Shooting Star
by Chaunceytron
Summary: Sequel to Forget-Me-Not. Traveling from world to world with the help of an eccentric Dalek, Lucy must flee or fight treacherous foes and monsters to get back to her Missy, but The Rani's plans are not finished just yet. Can Lucy outwit and destroy her foes, or will she be dragged into a prison of their making? Note: The 1st journal entry takes place at the manor before most of FMN
1. Journal Entry 1: Lucy's Ramblings

What do normal people write in journals? Mary gave this to me when she introduced herself, so I figured that I might as well write something. She did say something about just writing about whatever comes to mind. Check. I guess. I've never had a journal before. My brother did; I found it after the accident. I read it. I'm ashamed of myself, but I read it. I guess I just wanted to find out what he'd been thinking… how he thought. Probably just wanted to feel closer to him. It was all I had left.

I'd always thought that we were so different. He was bright and energetic, and I was focused and a bit dreary. The sun to my moon. But after reading, I found that we were far more alike than different. At least in all the important ways. He was in love with his best friend, loved our mom and dad, and… he loved me as much as I adored him.

I've been wondering lately what it would be like if he had survived. I doubt that I'd be working for The Mistress, but… that's not the way the world works. I wonder if he'd have been tempted by The Mistress' offer. If I had died with our parents, then would he be here now? No, I don't think so. I think… he'd have been able to move on with his life. He would have joined together with our friends and family, and he'd be sad but strong.

Lately I've been thinking about life and death, and I have a theory of sorts. What makes a person truly strong? I believe it's how they react to tragedy or misfortune. The truly strong are able to confide in others and open up about their grief, and they will recover. They may not be the same as they once were, but they'll get better. And they might even use their experience to open up to others.

But the ones who don't… I call them "the broken" because that's what they are. They allow their grief to take control of them and spiral out of control. Sadly, I happen to fall in the latter category. Everything that I'm doing is for one distinct goal. A self-destructive one at that. But it gives me purpose and strength… to do what needs to be done. Whether that's stealing an artifact from a rich billionaire or buying a part off some sketchy guy in a bad part of town.

There is a bit of hope though. I feel like that's why The Mistress allows me to tone down her murderous impulses. She's broken too, but she still has hope. She wants to become strong, and I think that she can… at least in theory. My little brother's friend had a grandma who went to Japan, and her grandma brought her back a special vase. It was black with golden veins creeping up the sides. Apparently, there's a practice of fixing broken pottery with gold. I guess creating a work of art out of something that's broken.

It's a wonderful metaphor, and even I had some appreciation for the piece itself. It was undoubtedly beautiful. Just because something breaks doesn't mean that it's broken forever. I guess in this case the gold would be hopes, dreams, goals, or even a person. Something that gives life it's pizazz. A spark of life to fix the broken. But I have no desire to be fixed.

It's not that I like the fog that is now my life, but… I fear the pain that will come back should I lose track of my goal. This numbness protects me. If I can't feel, then I'll be more prepared to do what comes next. The thing I fear more than staying broken is breaking someone else. Because if a broken person can be fixed, could a strong person break?

NO. NO. No, Eddie is important. He has to stay strong. Be strong. I'd rather fall into the deepest depths alone than drag him with me. For that Eddie can't know where I am or what I'm doing. He's the only thing that I have left, but I can't let him interfere. He's… important.

Well, I believe that's enough writing for now. Probably for forever. But at least I can tell Mary that I used her gift.


	2. Welcome Back from the Dead

Lucy hit the unforgiving ground with a loud thump. Inertia was an evil thing, and her jumping through the last breach had some consequences. An odd, mismatched Dalek flew through the portal with a cackle. It was a simple matter of levitation for him, and Lucy deeply regretted fixing that for him as he did circles overhead.

"Caan! Get down here, you clown. We don't even know where we are," Lucy hissed at him, but he paid her no mind.

Lucy sighed and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone nearby, but there was a horrible stench. Like rotting road-kill. Covering her mouth and nose, Lucy tried to find the source. It was coming from all around her. A moan caught her attention, and she turned to see a man limping toward her. She tensed as he got near her. His face was half-rotted off, and his eyes were dead. Last world there had been ghosts and vampires and werewolves. Now there were zombies.

Caan disappeared into the trees, and Lucy swore under her breath. If there was one zombie, odds were pretty great that there'd be more lurking about. Taking off her left-hand glove, Lucy calmly walked toward the creature. She didn't have the powers that The Monk had gone on about, but escaping Time itself had given her something to work with. The man lunged for her. Lucy took a step to the side before touching the zombie's outstretched arm. The zombie's eyes went wide as it aged to dust.

The sight of it made Lucy remember The Monk's miserable end. Had that been what had happened to him? A laugh caught her attention, and she turned expecting to see Caan. But it wasn't him. It was a middle-aged man with slicked back hair holding a strange bat. Lucy took a step back, and he seemed to realize what he was holding.

The man handed the bat to a man who had walked out of the forest behind him and showed Lucy his hands. He said gently but with authority, "See? Not gonna hurt you. But I suppose that you could do some real damage to me with that hand. So… what's your name, Sweetheart?"

Lucy eyed the stranger and considered some escape routes before answering, "Lucy. Who are you?"

The man gave her a smirk and replied, "Negan. Why don't you come with us and have a chat? I'm real interested in how you just crumbled that walker into dust with a touch. I could have a real spot on my team for someone like you."

"I've never been picked for teams of any kind, so you'll have to excuse my skepticism," Lucy replied and noticed a path with narrow parts. She could likely lose them that way. They weren't huge guys, but they were tall. They'd have a much harder time navigating that path than she would.

Negan laughed again, catching Lucy's full attention, and said, "Well, I'm going to have to insist, Lucy. It's dangerous out here." Shrugging at Lucy's irritated look, he continued, "There are dangerous people as well. Are you prepared to use your hand on them too?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes at that and hesitated. That gave Negan the chance to take a step closer; Lucy quickly took a step toward the path in reply. Negan held up his hands nonthreateningly.

"You're not a bad girl, Lucy. I can tell. You could dust me, but you haven't threatened me once. Not even a bluff. That tells me… that you're not quite comfortable with that. All I wanna do is talk. No one will hurt you."

A cackle echoed from around them and confused Negan and his men. Lucy took this as her cue to bolt. Putting her glove back on, she maneuvered around the path with ease and pulled down branches behind her. Negan cursed from behind her and ordered the men to catch her. Unfortunately, as of late, Lucy had been doing a lot of running. From world to world. Away from men and monsters. Trying to keep up with Caan. She lost the men through a briar patch and kept running. Negan's voice echoed from a distance, and Lucy decided to take a small break in an old rundown cemetery. There was a large, chain-link fence around the place. After picking the lock, she reached through the fence to lock it back in place from the outside. It was better that she didn't leave a trace. Lucy doubted that Negan would look for her here, so she caught her breath inside a mausoleum after checking it for zombies. The zombies were probably the fresh meat eaters. A cemetery just didn't hold their appeal, apparently. Particularly a gated one.

Caan would be okay. He was ridiculously difficult to get rid of, and the Dalek armor that Lucy had managed to piece together was really strong. Bullets bounced right off of it, so he wasn't in danger from those "Sons of Anarchy" dudes. Lucy sighed and took a seat beside one of the plaques. She needed a plan of some kind. Did she need to wait it out and hope that Negan would ignore this place, or should she find a better hiding spot? Would there even be a better hiding spot?

Voices from outside caused her to tense up. A woman's harsh orders could be heard from outside, and Lucy debated what to do. There was a small alcove above the door. Lucy could hide from sight up there and hope that they didn't explore it further. Using a grave to give her lift, she jumped to the alcove. Barely making it, she used her arms to maneuver herself closer to the window. Luckily they were boarded up, so as long as Lucy kept low she wouldn't be seen from the ground.

The door banged open with more force than necessary. A woman walked inside and surveyed around the room. Marble coffins were the only things in her sight, and Lucy made sure to keep quiet as the woman check around the room.

"She in there, Arat?" Negan called from outside.

"No," Arat answered as though disappointed. "I was sure that her tracks led in here, but everything is still sealed."

"She probably realized what a terrible hiding spot this is and split. Don't worry, Arat. I'm not mad. This is actually kind of exciting."

Lucy stayed still and felt a chill go up her spine. She may end up having to kill Negan to get anything done, and even then one of his men might take his place. Arat walked out of the mausoleum angrily. Yelling could be heard from outside, and Lucy stayed still until she could no longer hear anything. She allowed herself to move into a more comfortable position before she heard a groaning from below.

A zombie walked into the mausoleum. Cursing under her breath, Lucy debated what she should do. The thing probably couldn't get to her, but what if it made more sounds? Would they come back? Perhaps they were still out there. Waiting. Lucy listened, but the only thing she could hear was the heavy breathing of the creature. It seemed too… dead to make such noise. Maybe she should just wait here, but what if Caan found an exit to a different world without her? Would he just leave her? Lucy put her hands on her head as questions swirled through her mind, and she pet a quivering D'Artagnan, whom was still disguised as her tie.

Caan had always come back for her. Lucy didn't know why the Dalek was so protective of her, but she had been grateful. Maybe it was because she was the one who had pulled them out of Time. Taking a look at her hand, she held back another sigh. Luckily, the gloves were enough to protect whatever she touched with them on. They had fallen into Time with her and D'Artagnan, so maybe their invulnerability was due to that. But Lucy remembered the silk that they'd been made from. No doubt that probably had something to do with it.

There was a hiss from below; the zombie had gotten his shirt stuck on one of the plaques. It flailed around trying to break free. D'Artagnan hissed in return, and Lucy jumped down from the alcove. She took off her glove and touched the zombie. Waiting until it had completely disintegrated, Lucy then put back on her glove and looked outside. Those jerks had left the gate open, but only one zombie had wandered inside. No one else was there.

"It's okay, D'Artagnan," Lucy whispered. "We'll find that crazy Dalek and be on our merry way."

"What's a Dalek?" a voice whispered back, and Lucy jumped and looked to the side.

An older woman looked at Lucy with wonder from behind a tree. Noticing that she was staring at Lucy, the woman looked away and said, "I'm not one of the Saviors. I'm from a colony nearby. I was out looking for supplies when I saw you… and what you can do. Come with me. They'll be back this way soon. They left their vehicles over that ridge. I know somewhere that you can hide for a little while."

The woman walked away, and Lucy hesitantly followed her. She seemed to be heading away from the voices, which was good enough for Lucy. After a few minutes of walking, Lucy saw a small house in the distance, and she looked behind them hesitantly.

"Don't worry, girl," the older woman said brusquely. "The Saviors don't come close to this place. The leader here has some kind of deal with him. Hurry up. Come inside."

The woman opened the door, and Lucy quickly stepped inside. The sound of the door closing behind her made her feel more at ease. The older woman gave Lucy a quick look before she started putting her stuff away. Lucy looked around the house and thought about what to do next. Finding Caan would be her next step, but she wondered how far away he was. He'd never strayed far before. Somehow, he always seemed to know where Lucy was and found her if she got into too much trouble. She hoped that it would be the same in this world as well. He was the one who seemed to know when and where the portal would open. Without him Lucy would just have to hope that she'd chance upon it.


	3. From the Pan to the Fire

"So… you're not from around here, are you?" the woman asked Lucy curtly.

"Uh, no, ma'am," Lucy answered unsure of what to tell this woman. She'd seen what Lucy could do, so Lucy was relatively sure that she knew what she was getting into. "Thank you. A lot. But… I'll just be here for a few minutes."

"Are you sure you're up for those punks?" the woman asked and looked at Lucy's clothes.

Lucy was still in her butler uniform, so she was sure that she stuck out like a sore thumb. But these clothes meant something to Lucy. Lucy replied, "Well, I don't want to run into them again. That's for sure, but I need to find my friend. He's still out there."

"Then he's probably been caught."

"I doubt that… you saw what I can do, right?"

"I saw you do a magic trick that made a walker disappear," the woman answered haughtily.

"It's not really… a magic trick. Something… weird happened to me, and now if I touch something with my bare hand…"

"Say sayonara," the woman said and poured herself a drink. "Does it hurt?"

"More like tingles… my friend can kill with a touch as well, but he doesn't mean to. The last time it happened he warned the guy a few times."

"Well, hopefully he can take out a few of those Savior fellows."

"You don't understand… it hurts him to do so. He… doesn't want to. He's more fragile," Lucy explained and touched D'Artagnan for strength. "Thanks. For letting me stay here, but I do need to find him."

"If you're really grateful, then you'll stay a little while longer. Your friend seems like he can fend for himself. And I don't want you accidentally leading any Saviors here in your haste to find him."

Lucy paused and nodded. For the most part Caan could look after himself; it was Lucy who was nervous about him being alone. Missy had told her about Daleks. Caan was extremely strange for one, but Lucy assumed that was due to being stuck in Time with her. Clearly, it had done something to him.

"Okay," Lucy answered hesitantly and sat down where the woman told her to. "Do you live here alone?"

"Yes," the woman replied sternly. "So how did you and your friend… end up the way you are?"

"Um, I honestly doubt that you'd believe me."

"I live with the walking dead outside my door, child. Try me."

"Uh, okay," Lucy murmured cautiously. She wasn't quite sure, but what was the harm in telling the woman since Lucy would hopefully be gone soon anyways? "I was in… an explosion and I fell into a different place. I could see everything at once, and I could feel myself… being taken apart and put back together." Lucy paused to gather herself. This was the first time she'd talked about what had happened, and her skin started to tingle as though it was remembering the feeling of Time ripping it apart just to put it back together.

"Then what?" the woman asked more gently.

"I heard a voice. My brother's voice, calling my name. And I found a… weakness. I used my hands to tear myself out. They disintegrated and reformed a couple times in the process, but I just kept going. And suddenly… I was out in a place I didn't recognize. It wasn't my world. There were broken pieces of machinery around me, and that's where I found Caan. He was broken, so I used the pieces to put him back together."

"Well, that's… quite a story you've got there," the woman said quietly, thinking everything over.

Lucy nodded. She didn't expect the woman to believe her, but it felt good to get everything out in the open. Now that she'd said it out loud she felt as though a weight had been lifted.

"Is that how you got here?" the woman asked quietly. She didn't seem to be judging Lucy, and she was clearly listening. Lucy doubted that there were any insane asylums in this world. A small comfort.

"No. Caan… he can see or maybe sense… where and when there are breaches between worlds. Sometimes it takes a few hours. Sometimes a few days. I was trapped in one world for weeks. Anyway, we're trying to get back to our world."

"Your brother is there?"

"No, he… died a long time ago. I have someone who's waiting for me. She's probably going crazy… I can only hope that The Doctor can help her until I get back," Lucy muttered and started playing with her hands anxiously.

The woman nodded and replied, "Well, I don't know about most of what you were talking about but… I believe you. For what it's worth."

Lucy looked up from her hands to the woman, smiled, and assured her, "It does. Mean something. Thank you. Now I just need to find Caan and try to get out of here before that Negan finds me. He saw… what I can do. I don't know what he wanted, but it can't be good."

The woman nodded and went into a room. Lucy could hear her shuffling things around in the room, but she stayed seated. She doubted that the woman was dangerous. At least not to her. The woman came back out with a hunting knife and a bag. She threw some food into the bag and tossed Lucy some clothes.

"Wear those while you're here. You stand out like a sore thumb in that getup," the woman said as she continued packing essentials. "You can use the bedroom to change."

Lucy looked at the clothes before walking to the room. A grey tank top, a pair of black pants, and a dark green sweatshirt. This would be such better than what Lucy was wearing. Although Time had increased the durability of her clothes as well, they were also very easy to pick out of a forest environment. After getting changed, Lucy looked into the mirror. She looked less professional but more functional. With a small smile she walked back into the room to see the woman taking out a pair of shoes. Lucy gave her a curious look.

"Much better to run in than dress shoes, or at least I would imagine," the woman said gruffly.

Lucy looked down at her shoes. They were comfortable, but running for long periods of time would hurt her feet. She nodded and took off her shoes before putting on the woman's sneakers.

"Thank you," Lucy said and took out one of the necklaces that she'd kept in one of her suit pockets. "When I make money in a world, I use it to buy jewelry. It doesn't go bad, and I can exchange it for money. Here. I know it's probably not worth as much as food or shelter, but… I need to give you something. Please take it."

The woman looked hesitant but relented under Lucy's pleading eyes. She took the necklace and gave Lucy a small motherly smile. "Thank you," she said while admiring the necklace.

It wasn't the most expensive necklace that Lucy had on her, but Lucy felt that it suited the woman. A simple design with a pearl attached to the pendant, it had spoken to Lucy when she'd seen it in the store. Against her better judgment, she'd bought it despite knowing that there were better options as it had reminded her of her mother. Now she was happy that she could give it to someone who would treasure it.

"Ah, thanks again, but I should probably get going. Caan's out there," Lucy said awkwardly.

The woman nodded and gave Lucy the bag. She then looked down and said, "There's a flashlight in here. But use it sparingly. You don't want to draw them to you. And don't make too much noise. It draws the walkers to you. And… should you find your friend and need a place to hide out… you can come back." The woman looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Don't worry. Once I find Caan, we should be able to avoid them long enough to get out of here. Even if it is a few weeks. But thank you. You've done more than enough."

The woman looked down as Lucy put her shoes in the bag and walked to the door. Lucy paused and turned to the woman.

"My name's Lucy, by the way. I'd understand if you don't want me to know your name, but… I thought that you deserved to know," Lucy said quickly and went out the door, closing it behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she bolted off into the woods where she'd come from. Finding where she had first appeared would likely be her best bet. Caan could still be there hiding from Negan, and even if he wasn't, Lucy could probably track where he went. He tended to leave a small path of destruction wherever he went.

Voices in the distance caught her attention, and she ducked behind some trees. Peeking out, she saw Caan. He was surrounded by Negan's men, and Lucy took a deep breath. She readied herself. Time had put her back together correctly for the most part. The only complaint that she had was what had happened to the laser screwdriver; Lucy lifted up the sleeve of the sweatshirt and concentrated. Pain radiated up her arm. The screwdriver had become embedded inside her arm; she found that she could will it back out. But it was incredibly painful to remove. Her arm almost seemed to burn as the screwdriver came out. Fighting back tears, Lucy concentrated on listening to what the guys were saying.

"What even are you? Some kind of robot?" one of the men asked in a mocking tone. "Hey, I'm talking to you, freak. I heard you talking. What's a 'Time Child'?"

Lucy's grip tightened on the screwdriver as she counted the men. Six. That wouldn't be too many for her to take care of, but they'd be able to call out to others before she could get away.

"Hey! Answer him!" another one of the man said and slammed Caan with an open hand.

Lucy quickly sprang into action as the man screamed and disintegrated. Lucy was able to stun the other five due to them freezing in horror. Grabbing Caan, she wheeled him deeper into the forest and into a small cave. He was muttering to himself, "Not my fault," but Lucy held him close and hoped that Negan's men would be unable to find their hiding spot.


	4. Leap of Faith

Light cascaded through the trees as the sun climbed over the horizon. Lucy rubbed her eyes and stretched. Caan had calmed down after nightfall, and they'd taken turns getting some rest. Lucy had only gotten about four hours of sleep. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough under the circumstances. Luckily, the entrance to the cave was steep enough to ward off any "walkers" and discourage any humans. At least until morning, Lucy thought wearily.

Lucy's nose had become accustomed to this world's stench, which was a small mercy. The smell of rotting corpses had given her a terrible headache, and even now she felt, at best, uncomfortable. Nudging Caan, she got up from her resting place. Hopefully, the next world would be less apocalyptic, and a bed would be nice. Caan moved around hesitantly as Lucy looked outside. There was a single zombie in the distance, but it didn't seem to be a threat.

"The next gate will open soon," Caan said, surprising Lucy.

"That's great, but where?"

"Past the ones we met before."

"Oh, great," Lucy replied with an emphasis on her sarcasm. That could only mean "The Saviors." They were surprisingly pretentious for a bunch of rough-looking biker dudes. That Arat seemed to be a decent tracker. If Lucy and Caan were going to sneak past them, she'd have to find a way to cover their tracks. Flying would cause too much noise. Even moving around them would be difficult as Lucy had no idea how many of them there were.

The best solution would be to trap Negan and Arat somewhere. The men would be too busy trying to free them, and Lucy and Caan could just fly to the breach without really worrying about the noise level. But where would be a good place to trap them? The graveyard had a fence. Caan could seal it with a laser once Lucy had gotten Arat and Negan inside. The mausoleum had been just tall enough for Lucy to jump onto the fence and climb over to the other side.

Lucy quickly whispered the plan to Caan, whom let out a giggle of excitement. The men were likely still patrolling; Negan didn't seem like the type to give up easily. He'd said that he'd wanted excitement. Grabbing the bag, Lucy left the cave. The walker noticed her and stumbled toward her, but Lucy quickly took off her glove. Without hesitation she dusted him. That was getting too easy for Lucy to do, and that bothered her. Even though it was definitely the right thing to do, she could tell that she was becoming numb to it. She didn't want to go back to those days. Where everything felt numb. No, she was better now, and she had a goal. To get back to Missy and no biker jerks were going to stop her.

With a newfound sense of confidence and motivation, Lucy led Caan to the mausoleum. She threw her backpack on top of the mausoleum and made sure that she could climb on top before she went to check the gate. Negan's men had messed up the lock beyond saving. Lucy muttered a curse under her breath and checked the chains; they were still usable. Caan could likely seal the gate itself closed if he needed to. She took another deep breath and looked out to the forest and through the trees. She couldn't hear anyone. Hopefully, Negan and his men had left, but Lucy knew that all of Caan's predictions had been right so far. They were likely going to have to deal with those creeps.

Lucy noticed Caan maneuvering around some bramble bushes. He finally wheeled himself into one to hide, which was a pretty good idea. The bushes were thick enough to hide him, and the thorns would discourage anyone from poking around in there. Lucy took another moment to calm herself before she walked into the surrounding forest. What was she doing?

These guys were clearly after her, and she was going after them. The good news was that even if they shot her it wouldn't be that big a deal. She'd died twice now. Death just didn't seem to stick for her. She'd been shot in a previous world and had awoken without even a spot of blood on her clothes. She'd felt cold before a golden light started pulling her back into Time. After fighting against it, she had awakened to find her very surprised shooter crossing himself before making a getaway. It was one of her few regrets, not chasing that jerk down and making him pay, but she hadn't known where Caan was. That was far more important at the time.

Lucy wondered if Negan and his men had simply left the area when a snapping caught her attention. Negan smirked at her with about twenty men behind him. They were now in between her and the cemetery. Great.

"Come on, kid," Negan said as Lucy quickly evaluated her options. "This was fun but now… it's getting to be a pain. I'm not going to hurt you, and we can talk about where you got those sweet new kicks."

"I'm good," Lucy replied and bolted for the narrowest path.

It would force them to follow behind her one by one, and she could outmaneuver them in between the smaller trees. She made a hard right and heard at least one of the men slip on the foliage. They were bigger than she was, so if she kept running in an erratic zigzagging pattern, it would be harder for them to make the sudden turns. She saw the gate in the distance and sprinted for the cemetery. Her lungs were burning, but she could see the mausoleum in the distance. And the sound of Negan's cursing behind her gave her the motivation to keep running. She bolted through the gates and ran for the mausoleum, but as she climbed a hand grabbed her leg.

Arat held her leg with a smug, triumphant look on her face. D'Artagnan shifted into a snake and wrapped himself around her arm as she screamed in terror. There was a nauseating, popping sound. D'Artagnan climbed back to Lucy as Arat fell to the ground with a scream of pain, but Lucy was able to finish climbing the mausoleum. As Negan and his men rushed into the cemetery, Lucy looked pleadingly to where Caan had been hiding. The gates needed to be sealed before she jumped. Her leg hurt from where Arat had squeezed it in pain, but she was pretty sure that she still could make it. But then so could Negan.

"Whoa, girl! You are just a whole basket full of crazy!" Negan said with a mixture of frustration and admiration. "But there's a problem here. You've got nowhere to run now."

A gun was now in his hand, and he fired off a shot. The bullet grazed Lucy's leg and caused her to drop to her knees. There was no way she could make the jump now, and by the look in Negan's eyes, he knew that as well. He made a move to climb the mausoleum, but D'Artagnan began to hiss.

"Hey, now. Fair is fair. Sorry, but you did hurt one of my people. Be glad that you're interesting enough for me to forgive."

Lucy glared at Negan with seething hatred. At least Caan was safe, but she didn't see a way for her to make it out of this. A loud cackle gave her hope as Caan flew in from overhead. Negan's men fired at him, but the bullets did nothing as he swooped to the top of the mausoleum. Lucy grabbed her bag and quickly leapt to him with her good leg. D'Artagnan looped himself around Lucy's neck, and Caan took off into the clouds.

After looking into the distance, Lucy looked back to the cemetery below. Negan was bellowing order as his men failed to open the gate. Caan cackled again and flew them further away over the forest. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as he piloted them into the breach. This world looked much friendlier; Lucy noted as she looked around. They were in a park at night. Lucy saw the tall buildings surrounding them when a cough shook her back to her senses. A homeless man sat on a bench and stared at her with large, unbelieving eyes; he cast a glance at his booze in a bag before setting it warily onto the ground.

Caan landed on the ground, and Lucy fell. Her leg would heal sooner than a normal person's, but it would still take a while. The man had gotten up and knelt beside her. Lucy remembered that the woman had put some white material in the bag before Lucy had left. Gauze was in the bag, and Lucy smiled with relief. Clearly, that woman was more prepared than Lucy would ever be.

Lucy pulled up the leg of her pants to survey the damage. Negan had gotten a good shot, but it was far more of a nuisance than a danger. The man immediately started wrapping the gauze around Lucy's injury to slow down the bleeding. Lucy glanced at the contents of the bag. She didn't really need the food as she still had some jewelry to sell. Her new friend could have it. Maybe even a hotel for the next week if Lucy could get enough cash.

Through her travels, Lucy had met all kinds of people, both good and bad. She had been sheltered, hunted, stabbed, and shot, but nothing had scared her more than the thought of those men catching her. After all she'd been through, it felt good to be shown some kindness, and Lucy could only hope to give enough in return.


	5. Darkness and Madness

Lucy stretched her leg and looked around. Her leg had already healed, but she still checked on it. She looked around, entranced by the new world she found herself in. This was by far one of the stranger places that she'd seen, and considering that she'd traveled through time and space, that was really saying something. Shadows engulfed the landscape. It was almost as though this place was simply made of darkness.

A sudden movement caught her attention. D'Artagnan had shifted into a wolf and was sniffing around the place. Perhaps he liked it here. He was a shape-shifting creature of darkness. Maybe this would be a good home for him, Lucy thought unhappily, but D'Artagnan returned and nudged her hand with his nose. He must be trying to find their friend. As Lucy couldn't hear his mad cackling, she assumed that Caan must have landed elsewhere.

Lucy smiled and pat D'Artagnan on the head. He led her through the darkness, trying to find that crazy idiot. A shiver went up Lucy's spine as they walked; they were being followed. Not that Lucy could see or hear anything but D'Artagnan paused briefly to growl at the darkness behind them. Finally, after Lucy noticed D'Artagnan's fur standing straight up, Lucy turned to the darkness. She still couldn't see anything, but she summoned some courage.

"That's rather rude of you. If you keep lurking like that, someone will think that you're a stalker… or a perv," Lucy said into the shadows with some spite. She didn't like feeling like prey.

"My sincerest apologies," a deep voice said in reply, and a man in a nicely-pressed suit stepped out of the shadows or rather… formed from them.

Lucy took a moment to analyze the stranger. The man looked human, but his skin had an odd tint. An odd grayish blue with hints of red surrounded him. His eyes seemed to stare through her, and she could tell from his eyes that despite his words his "sincerest" apology meant bupkis.

She put on a fake smile and replied evenly, "How can I help you?"

The man looked confused and stared at her quietly. Evidently, he'd thought that she'd be more frightened. After a few moments, he straightened his tie and replied, "That is what I wanted to ask you. Humans don't often come to our world. Well, at least not in one piece. Who brought you here? And what is that… lovely creature?"

"Lovely creature? Oh! You mean D'Artagnan. He's a… well, to be honest I have no idea. He's a shapeshifter. And don't worry. I don't plan on staying long. I just need to find my other friend."

The man tilted his head to the side, and Lucy noticed that D'Artagnan was now a bear standing between her and the stranger. D'Artagnan growled at the man, but the stranger just looked at him with fascination.

"D'Artagnan! We need to go!" Lucy shouted with force, sensing danger.

D'Artagnan gave one last menacing growl before he started to leave Lucy and search for Caan. That Dalek had a habit of getting them into unnecessary situations, and Lucy wanted to catch him before he started too much trouble. She didn't like the looks of this place… or the creepy dude. As though reading her mind, the man materialized in front of her, causing her to crash into his chest.

"My 'sincerest apologies,'" Lucy said as she righted herself. She hadn't heard footsteps which confused her. How had he gotten so close?

"Leaving without giving me your name," the man said serenely, but there was anger in his eyes. "That's 'rather rude of you.'"

Lucy narrowed her eyes but said nothing. He was clearly mocking her now. She faked another smile and replied, "I assumed that our conversation was over. And what's in a name anyway?"

The man grabbed her hand and growled in a low voice, "But I would like yours."

Lucy stared him down and thought about yanking her hand back, but she had no idea who, or what, this man was. Playing it safe was her best option.

"Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy. You may call me Dark," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Why don't you let me help you find this… friend of yours?"

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," Lucy replied. She tried to pull back her hand, but this "Dark" was extremely strong.

"But I have to insist. Call off your… creature. I will allow no harm to come to you as long as you are here."

"Easy, D'Artagnan. We need to find Caan," Lucy said soothingly, although she noticed that Dark had no intention to let go of her hand. Despite her efforts to keep herself composed, she felt her face heat up. It wasn't the skin to skin contact that bothered her as she was wearing gloves; it was the way he held her hand. His fingers interlocked with hers. The only people who had done that were The Mistress and her childhood friend Eddie.

A soft chuckle caught her attention, and she looked to see Dark giving her a genuine smile. He caught himself and frowned. After using his free hand to brush off his suit, he led her behind D'Artagnan. It wasn't until Lucy heard a mad cackling that Dark let go of Lucy's hand. For a second, Lucy thought it was Caan, but it was too… different.

"What do you want, Anti?" Dark asked as a man with green tinged hair stepped out from the shadows. Lucy noticed an odd marking on his throat, but Dark blocked her view.

"I want… what you have. Who's the pretty lady?"

Dark moved closer to Lucy as this "Anti" stepped forward menacingly. As Anti got closer, she noticed the "mark" on his neck was actually a wound.

"My name is Lucy, and I don't belong to him. I only 'belong' to one person."

Dark's eyes narrowed, and Anti laughed with excitement.

"Who?" Dark asked calmly, but there was a storm brewing in his eyes.

"My Master… Missy. I'm her butler, bodyguard, and… hmm… I was trying to find another b-word. All for that alliterative appeal."

"Her bitch?" Anti asked with a smirk.

"I guess," Lucy replied and noticed that D'Artagnan was growing more anxious. She took a step toward him, but something held her back. Darkness seemed to be holding her in place.

"After you find your friend, what are you planning on doing?"

"What?" Lucy asked as she felt a weird pressure. Her head hurt as she heard "stay" reverberate through her mind. She fought against the urge and replied angrily, "I already told you. I'm leaving. Going back to Missy. What the hell are you doing?"

Dark tilted his head and cracked his neck as Anti laughed.

Lucy cursed under her breath and lifted up her right sleeve. While she had emerged from Time itself more or less intact, her laser screwdriver had become embedded inside her arm. With a gasp of pain she removed it from her arm and pointed it at the ground, firing a shot at the darkness holding her. It let out a hiss, and she was free. Dark looked both perturbed and interested as Anti clapped his hands in joyous amusement.

"Truce?" Anti asked Dark with a grin.

Dark straightened his tie before answering, "For now. Show us what you've got, little Lucy."

"Not good," Lucy thought as she called out to D'Artagnan, "Bo staff!"

D'Artagnan leapt to her, transforming into a staff that she caught in her right hand. She held her ground and stared them down. Dark disappeared into the shadows as Anti charged forward, laughing madly. Lucy caught his leg with the staff. Anti fell to the ground with confusion on his face, but it was soon replaced with glee as he recovered. Holding the screwdriver in her left hand, she fired at the darkness around her before defending herself from Anti.

Anti seemed to be glitching now. His voice had an odd echo as he laughed. He charged at her again, and Lucy swung the staff. This time he dodged and knocked the screwdriver from her hand. It vanished in a burst of light. Lucy tried to take a step back to regain ground, but the shadows tripped her as Anti forced D'Artagnan from her hands. Strong hands caught and held her as she desperately tried to escape.

"Now, now, little Lucy. Calm yourself," Dark whispered in her ear. "Struggling will do you no good."

"Now you can be our toy forever!" Anti exclaimed excitedly. "What should we do first? Oh, I know! I can make your neck as pretty as mine."

Lucy twisted and managed to kick Anti directly in the chest. Dark's hands tightened around her. She would likely pay for that later, but at the moment she didn't mind.

"The fight was fun, but it's over now," Dark said softly but sternly. "You're mine now, and nothing can save you."

"Ours! She's OURS!" Anti yelled in fury as he got back to his feet.

"Details," Dark retorted dismissively.

There was a flash of light, and Lucy felt Dark's grip falter as he fell to the ground. Caan flew in and stunned Anti as well. Lucy let out a laugh, grabbed D'Artagnan, and ran to her knight in tarnished, mismatched Dalek armor. He levitated low enough for Lucy to grab onto him. As Caan flew them away, Lucy peeked back at her fallen foes. Dark was still stunned, but his eyes told her that he'd regain his strength soon. Caan let out a cackle, distracting Lucy.

"What took you so long?!"

"I FOUND THE EXIT!" Caan replied in his growly voice.

"Really?" Lucy said excitably and took another look back. Anti was sprinting at them, and Dark was nowhere to be seen. Lucy cleared her throat nervously and said, "We need to hurry!"

Caan let out a deranged giggle before quickly picking up speed. There was an odd shimmer in the distance. A breach between worlds. Lucy knew that it would close behind them, and they just needed to get through it.

Her head began to pound again, and she managed to cling to Caan.

"Don't go. Stay," Dark's voice echoed through her head. First pleading but then it grew more insistent, more… angry. With a sudden burst of speed Caan propelled them through the rift to safety.


	6. JE 2: New Worlds, New Problems

So, this would be my second journal. The old one is probably still at the manor, and here I am wishing that I had burned it before we left. So why am I writing in a new one? Good question, me. Well… I think it'll be good to keep a record of my new experiences. What kind of worlds I've been to. Who to avoid. The answer to the second question so far is: Dark, Anti, and Negan. If I can just avoid those three in particular, that'd be just swell.

I've also met some good people: a "friendly" vampire, a funny werewolf, a charming ghost, a kind but brusque older woman, a gentle homeless man named Steve, and an interesting con man. The con man I'll be meeting tomorrow. First, I'll have to follow his weird commands and riddles, but he seems to be a good guy. And as long as he has the parts that I need, I don't really care about Dante Haversham's list of probable issues.

I need some parts for Caan's suit's inner mechanisms as well as parts for a new creation of mine. I'm going to attempt to create something that will allow me to keep track of the places I've been and tell me if I've been there before, and hopefully, with enough tweaking I can get it to send me back to a place where I've been. That shadow world was dangerous. What if they had discovered that I could come back to life? Then I'd have to deal with a never-ending series of torment. And what if the breach hadn't opened so conveniently on time? Then I'd still be there. Being hunted by those… things.

The one in the suit actually scared me more than the clearly insane one. His eyes… they reminded me of The Mistress' eyes when we first met. Lonesome and angry. Broken. What scared me was the urge to try to "fix" him. I felt pity. Empathy. The broken can fix themselves with the right motivation, and I have mine. But he's all alone. Maybe that's why he tried to stop me from leaving. He doesn't want me to fix myself; he'd rather drag me down with him. I'm stronger than that. At least… I am now. Missy's waiting for me. I know it.

What were those two anyway? Not aliens. Something much darker. Demons? That's the closest thing that I can think of to describe them. Maybe humanoid abominations? Well, crap. I don't know. The internet says that salt will keep them away. I might throw in some extra money and get "purified" salt. It's probably just a scam but better to be safe than sorry.

Well, I haven't seen any trace of them… Perhaps they're stuck in that world. It would explain why they were so keen on making me their new toy. The worst thing that's happened to me so far is a few computer glitches, but these are computers that I've worked on. And I doubt that… Anti dude would be able to cause them. I'm still getting the salt though. Better safe than sorry.

Caan hasn't been himself since we escaped that world. He's more… quiet now, and he listens when I tell him to stay put. Is he also worried about those two? We've been to a couple different worlds since then, but I can't shake the feeling of being watched. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Caan is probably just having some issues with his suit. After I talk to this Haversham guy and get what I need, he should be back to normal. Or whatever "normal" is for a crazy Dalek with precognitive powers. Wait… has he seen something? Is he silent because he's seen something too terrible for even him to brush off?

I'll try asking him after I put him back together although I doubt that I'll get an answer. Writing things down seems to be good for me after all. Who knows… maybe this will be a new thing for me.


	7. Broken Wings

Golden light eclipsed Lucy's view as she felt her hands being ripped apart molecule by molecule and reformed just as fast in the attempt to escape. Her brother's voice echoed from all around her. He sounded frantic and scared. Lucy had to save him, and not all of Time would keep her contained.

Lucy pulled on the weak spot with all her might, but this time it wouldn't budge. Tears leaked down Lucy's face as she her arms began to shake and falter under the pressure. She was thrown back by a mysterious energy as Time fixed itself. She was trapped and began to scream. A sudden jolt of electricity hit her before she fell off the bed.

A dream, Lucy thought with a sigh of relief. Caan quickly glided back into the closet without a word; he must have sensed danger. It wasn't the kindest way to wake someone up, but Lucy was grateful. She pulled herself off the floor and walked to the bathroom with a slight stumble. The water from the faucet felt good on her face as she washed it. Looking into the mirror, she noted the bags under her eyes. Sleep was hard to come by these days. Being chased by creeps during the day and having nightmares at night had drained her of energy. Using a towel to wipe her face, she thought about her previous adventures and looked back into the mirror.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy noticed a shadow move in the mirror and turned quickly to see… nothing. Looking back into the mirror, she tried to find anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place. With a sigh she left the bathroom and put on her running shoes and the hoodie; D'Artagnan looked up from the bed wearily. He had turned into a cat before they went to sleep. Now he stretched before jumping onto Lucy and turned into a scarf as Lucy walked toward the door.

Lucy turned to the closet with her hand on the doorknob and said, "I'm going for a walk, Caan. I'll be back soon."

There was no answer, but Lucy knew that he had heard her. She closed the door softly behind her. The motel here was a nicer one than Lucy was used to, but when they'd landed in Los Angeles, Lucy had immediately cashed in to the only motel nearby that was both private and accepting of cash. Sneaking Caan inside had been incredibly difficult with all of the people around. However, with a giant cardboard box and some ingenuity, Lucy had managed it.

The sound of waves hitting the shore drew Lucy toward the ocean. A walk might just be what she needed. D'Artagnan tightened around Lucy as she walked closer to the water, and Lucy touched him reassuringly. He relaxed with her touch. Lucy walked down the beach, careful not to get too close to the water. She took a seat on the sand and looked out into the ocean. It was still dark outside, but there was the faintest line of light over the horizon. Ghost crabs ran around the beach. Their white bodies almost blending in with the sand as they bolted around and tried to find their burrows before the sun came up. Lucy smiled at them, feeling a kinship with the odd critters. As soon as the sun was up, she'd retreat into her room for the day. Perhaps her dreams would be more pleasant during the day.

Lucy collapsed and laid on the beach. Even on the beach away from most of the city lights, she could barely make out a few of the brightest stars. With a loud sigh she closed her eyes. Sleeping on the beach wasn't the best of ideas, but she could at least rest her eyes for the moment. They'd been in this world for a couple of days now.

Caan's repair work was finished, but he still wasn't acting like his normal self. He was quiet most of the time. While he still came to her rescue when necessary, it wasn't the Leeroy Jinkins style that Lucy had become accustomed to. She had asked him but received no reply. Over the past months of them traveling from world to world, she had grown used to his presence, but now she wondered if he was having second thoughts. Maybe he didn't know where they were going anymore.

Quite frankly, Lucy was amazed at how much he had already known. They had been thrown into this odd adventure, and Caan had taken the lead and made sure that they got to the next place. Maybe they weren't headed in the right direction like Lucy had thought; maybe Caan had realized that they wouldn't make it home. Lucy quickly sat up and brushed the sand out of her hair. No, that couldn't be it. The Mistress had said that Lucy had met one of her previous incarnations. It had been the first time that The Master had met Lucy, and she had left a mark. She hadn't met him yet, so Lucy had to get back at some point.

She turned back toward the motel to see its lights shining in the distance. While she didn't normally spend this much money to get a nice place near the water, she was glad that she had. The ocean calmed her nerves as she stared at its glistening surface. The sun had just started to rise. Soon the streets would be bustling with people, and Lucy would head back to the motel and try to get some more sleep. Taking a deep breath of the ocean air, Lucy looked down the beach and saw something that made her pause.

Getting up slowly, she crept behind the lifeguard station to hide. A man and a woman were on the beach. They were arguing, but that wasn't what caught Lucy's attention. Bright white wings sprouted from the man's back, obscuring everything around them. Lucy's body felt almost numb with amazement and wonder. She couldn't explain why they were so radiant, but as he moved them, Lucy realized that they were without a doubt part of the man and not a costume. They moved like a bird's wing. The feathers were almost fluffed with irritation.

Lucy turned her attention to the woman. She was dressed in all black with sharp clothing, and even her body language seemed on edge as the man ordered her to do something. Suddenly, the woman took out a knife as the man turned his back to her. Lucy almost shouted out to warn him, but she noticed that he glanced at the knife with satisfaction on his face. The woman took a second to prepare herself.

Watching in horror and fascination, Lucy held back a gasp as the woman sliced off one of the man's wings. The man held back a cry of pain as Lucy stared unblinking in horror. Was this what the man was asking the woman to do? The woman seemed to take no pleasure in cutting off the wings; instead she looked at the cut-off wing with a tinge of sadness.

"The other one now, Maze," the wind carried the man's voice down the beach to Lucy. He had a British accent, which for some reason struck Lucy as odd before she remembered just how messed up the situation was.

The woman took a second to prepare herself to cut the next one off when Lucy's feet started to carry her away from the craziness. A quick look back told her that the woman had noticed but was distracted by something the man said. Lucy put all of her energy in running up the beach and onto the sidewalk. Once she gained traction from the concrete, she bolted as fast as she could. Reaching her room door, she looked back toward the beach. No one appeared to be following her.

The door stuck as she entered the key, so she hurriedly tried it again. This time the door opened. She tried closing the door as quietly as she could and took a second to catch her breath. A quick look out the window told her that no one had caught up to her yet. Lucy closed the blinds and breathed a sigh of relief. Kicking off her shoes, she walked over to the bed. D'Artagnan turned into a cat again and jumped onto the bed and underneath the covers. Lucy made sure to avoid him as she collapsed onto the bed.

After she briefly considering moving, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. That wouldn't be a smart plan at the second. She'd draw more attention if she tried to leave quickly, and neither of the people on the beach had seemed to be in a position to have followed her. The man, if that's really what he was, had one wing cut off and needed the woman to cut off the other. The woman, Maze, had definitely seen Lucy. That was worrying, but for now Lucy needed to rest.

Taking off the sweatshirt, she settled back into the bed. The run from the beach had depleted what little energy she had left. Her legs ached. The bed felt remarkably soft now, and her eyelids were so heavy. Part of her was afraid that they'd discover her room, but what could they do to her anyway? Death wasn't really much of a big deal for her anymore although she was afraid that one time she wouldn't be able to come back. One of them seemed to be an angel. Or at least this world's equivalent of an angel. The woman seemed more dangerous to Lucy.

Lucy let out a yawn and snuggled into the pillow. She'd deal with the angel and his accomplice tomorrow, but for now sleep took hold as the world went dark around her.


	8. Lucifer and Mazikeen

The pawn shop owner was clearly trying to stiff her on the jewelry, but Lucy really needed money at the moment. She had just gotten a patent on one of her inventions and was waiting for the payoff. Careful not to make anything too advanced, Lucy would create new inventions and sell them to the highest bidder. This gave her the money she needed to buy the jewelry and not have to try to make money in every new world she came across. Her supplies were low now though.

A week staying in a nice motel in Los Angeles had drained most of her funds. If it wasn't for the possibility of meeting that angel dude again, Lucy would just find a place in the desert to sleep and lie low until they could leave. Taking Caan out of the hotel was too dangerous at the moment. His lack of energy had Lucy worried, and she wasn't sure that he would be able to flee if the situation arose.

The shop owner cleared his throat and looked at Lucy expectantly. They both knew that this was a bad deal for Lucy, but she really needed the money. He seemed to know that he had already won the argument. Lucy had already known when she bought the jewelry that she wouldn't be getting the full price back, but she hadn't expected to lose this much.

"Fine," Lucy said irritably, but the man didn't seem to care. Lucy watched with seething hatred as he almost skipped to the register.

He cheerfully rang her up at the counter and gave her the money. "Have a nice day," he said smugly as Lucy started to leave the store.

Lucy briefly considered torching the store before she left for a new world. It wasn't as though the cops would be able to find her once she got through the breach, but as she pushed open the door to leave, she glanced at the other unhappy employees. They didn't deserve that. They seemed to hate their boss more than she did. There would be a comeuppance for the jerk, but Lucy would have to plan it more carefully.

She smiled and replied before closing the door, "You too!"

The man looked at her in surprise as Lucy walked off with a smirk on her face. It would feel good to let off some steam. The past few days had been a nervous nightmare for Lucy, and she kept imagining that woman or angel would find where she was. Luckily it seemed that they either couldn't find her or didn't care enough to try. The second option was what Lucy was hoping for as it meant that she wouldn't have to worry much.

A tea shop on the corner caught her eye. A nice cup of tea would really hit the spot right now, but she didn't really have the funds to do so. She needed to have extra just in case Caan needed any new parts. Lucy sighed wistfully at the shop before turning the corner, almost running into a man.

"Oh, sorry," Lucy apologized before her blood ran cold.

"Oh, no problem," the man replied. The "angel" from the beach stared at her with warm brown eyes peering at her curiously. He smiled and tilted his head at her before asking, "Have we met before?"

"Uh… no," Lucy lied awkwardly and walked past him. "Have a good day, sir."

With a wave Lucy walked quickly through a crowd with the intention of at least slowing him down. She doubted that he'd gotten a good look, but she didn't want to stick around for the woman to show up.

"You're from the beach, aren't you?" he said from right beside her. He was wearing a catlike grin and easily keeping up with her.

Lucy silently cursed his long legs but said sternly, "No idea what you're talking about. Got places to be and things to do, so please excuse me."

"Liar," the man hissed irritably and still followed her. "But I have a proposition for you. A job."

Lucy stopped abruptly almost causing the man to run into her. He straightened his jacket and smiled again, but Lucy saw a flash of red in his eyes.

"So… what is it you desire most in this world?" he asked silkily.

Lucy almost felt like she was in a trance before she broke eye contact and began walking away again. She was pretty sure that he wouldn't do anything to her with all these people around, so she started thinking of a way to lose him.

"Right now I desire some peace and quiet," Lucy said abruptly, and the man let out a bark of laughter.

He kept in step with her and said cheerily, "Oh, you're one of the more… complex ones, aren't you? Rather distrustful as well."

Lucy said nothing and kept walking. She could see police officers in the distance and relaxed a little.

"Well, I'll cut right to the chase then. You know about my… peculiarity, and I would like to pay or exchange a favor for your silence," the man said causing Lucy to stop and judge him silently. "Well, you see, my Father is kind of… big of celestial secrets. So, if you know what you want, we can talk. My club is just right up the street there."

"Lucifer!" a woman's voice called out, and Lucy felt dread. Sure enough, the woman from before walked up to them and glared at Lucy. "Oh, you. I remember you. Are you going to be a problem? Because I would just love to solve you."

Lucy registered the threat but was unsure of what she really meant. Her voice sounded sultry, but the look in her eyes seemed to be aggressive.

"Mazikeen! Play nice. For now," Lucifer ordered. "Oh, I didn't catch your name, Miss?"

"That's because I didn't give it," Lucy replied evenly and met Maze's glare with one of her own. "You don't have to give me anything. I just would like some peace and quiet to do my work, and then leave."

"Leave?" Lucifer asked bewilderedly. "Why would anyone want to leave this place? It's wonderful."

"It's noisy, loud, and filled with people," Lucy said irritably. "So, thanks for the offer, but as I said… things to do."

She turned to walk away when Maze grabbed her hand and pinned her to the wall. Lucy felt Maze's body press up against hers.

Maze whispered in her ear, "Someone's not listening… naughty people get punished."

Lucy could hear Lucifer begin to protest, but she hooked her leg around Maze's and elbowed Maze in the throat with her free arm. Maze was caught by surprise and fell to the ground. At first, fury rose in Maze's eyes, but it was soon replaced by excitement.

"Maze, not now," Lucifer ordered. "I apologize for her behavior. She's had a… hellish upbringing. Please, come to the club tonight. No pressure."

Lucifer handed Lucy a card. "Lux" was printed on the card, and Lucy looked at Lucifer curiously. He gave her a smile and continued, "That will get you inside tonight. Free of charge. I would like to make sure that there aren't any hard feelings, and I'm sure that even you have something that you desire whether you want to admit it or not. I'll see you later."

Lucifer gestured for Maze to follow him with an easy confidence that both infuriated and intrigued Lucy. Maze glared at Lucy before following Lucifer down the street. Watching as they disappeared into a crowd of people, Lucy breathed a sigh of relief before she quickly took off in a different direction. She would wait a few hours before she went to Lux. Who knows. Perhaps she could get a job from him to make some quick cash before her invention paid off.

She didn't want to just take money from him. That seemed infinitely more sketchy and likely to bite her in the ass later, but she doubted that he would be know enough about human technology to be able to fix it. And it was more likely that he'd be willing to pay someone to fix it for him. Lucy smiled and walked back to the tea shop.

A cup of tea wouldn't be too much of an expenditure at the moment. As she waited in line, she contemplated going back to the motel to wait, but she was in Los Angeles. Why not take in some of the local sights while she was stuck here? And it wasn't like Caan was going to talk much anyway. He was still moping in the closet. D'Artagnan was with him, which caused Lucy to have some anxiety about the meeting at Lux. She didn't have either of her protectors with her at the moment, but she would be fine. After all, she had managed to hold her own against Maze. Even Lucifer had looked surprised.

Lucy smiled at the cashier as she gave her order and waited for her tea. It was a nice day outside, and there was some kind of art exhibit going on nearby. She briefly wondered if they would have any religious portraits. Lucifer's name still gave her chills, but he hadn't seemed to be as bad as people said. Maybe a little too carefree but he had at least seemed reasonable.

The barista called out her name, and Lucy grabbed her tea before taking a seat far from a window. She would do some exploring and swing by Lux to offer him her services. A deal with the devil sounded dangerous, but at this point it may well be worth it.


	9. Lux

This was Hell or at least Lucy's version of Hell. Lucy walked into Lux to see women swinging from poles and people dancing close on each other to the music. Uncomfortable was a word that barely covered how Lucy was feeling, and she wanted to just find Lucifer and go. However, the bouncer had insisted that she wait here. He'd at least seemed nice as he told Lucy that it would only take a few minutes for someone to come for her. A hand on her shoulder made Lucy flinch and duck away. Maze gave her a curious look followed by a smirk as she led Lucy to an elevator.

"A little jumpy, aren't you?" Maze mocked as Lucy stepped inside.

"How's your leg feeling?" Lucy snapped back.

Maze glared at her before laughing and said cheerfully, "You could be fun if you took that stick out of your ass."

"I'd say that you could be a responsible adult, but I foresee no real conditions that would lead to that happening," Lucy replied with a fake smile.

"Ha! Who wants to be responsible?! That sounds like more torture than Hell. Oh. We're here," Maze called out as the elevator doors opened.

Lucy followed Maze from the elevator to see a bar lined with booze. She narrowed her eyes at Lucifer who came out of a room in a bathrobe. He smirked at her irritation before walking towards her. Lucy took a step back to create some space and thought that she saw his eyes flicker red again, but soon he was back to that annoying over-confidence.

"Thank you, Maze. Could you keep an eye on the party downstairs while we talk?" Lucifer said.

"Just one thing," Maze said gesturing for Lucifer to follow her.

Lucifer held up his pointer finger to Lucy and said, "One moment, please."

Lucy nodded as Lucifer went to talk to Maze privately. She looked around the room with curiosity. It seemed like a nice loft. There was a beautiful view, but the thing that interested Lucy the most was the piano. With a quick glance toward where Lucifer and Maze had disappeared, Lucy quietly walked to the piano. She couldn't resist lightly tapping one of the key and smiled.

"You like the piano?" Lucifer asked, and Lucy jumped slightly. He moved quieter than a cat. "Do you play?"

"Yes, or at least I used to."

"Do you want to play right now?"

Lucy stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights and mumbled, "I haven't played in a long time."

"But do you want to?" Lucifer asked again, more playfully.

Lucy moved to the piano and took a seat. Carefully thinking over what she would play, she decided on an old favorite of hers, one she could play without glancing at the sheet music. At first her fingers moved clumsily across the keys, but soon they seemed to find their way as Lucy was swept up by the music. The bittersweet melody echoed through the loft. As she finished, she looked up to see Lucifer eyeing her with amusement.

"It takes a foolhardily brave person to play 'Hallelujah' in front of the devil," Lucifer said with a smirk.

"It's a beautiful song," Lucy replied defensively as Lucifer sat beside her.

"Fine, but how about something a little more upbeat?"

"Fine," Lucy snapped back and smirked. If he wanted upbeat, she could give him that. Smiling as her hands danced along the keys, she looked over to see Lucifer looking very confused.

"I've never heard this piece before. What's it called?"

"It's more of a theme than a piece. The Mario Brothers," Lucy replied smugly.

"Well, it's rather simple. Do you like these Mario brothers?"

"I'd say that they're super," Lucy said with a straight face as Lucifer gave her a curious look. "Those are the only ones that I can play without checking the sheet music."

"A true musician doesn't need sheet music," Lucifer scoffed.

"Well, I'm not a true musician then. I'm better at fixing things."

"What kind of things?"

"Electronics, cars, those kinds of things. I also create things in my spare time."

"What kinds of things? Any kinky things?" Lucifer asked playfully, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"No, devices to make life easier I guess."

"Are you afraid that I'll steal your big ideas?" Lucifer asked with amusement.

"No, they're just a way for me to make money."

"So, you do want the money then?" Lucifer asked and got up to dig through his drawer.

"No," Lucy said and stood up from the bench. "I'm just asking that you keep me in mind if you have any electronics that break or need help setting things up."

Lucifer watched her carefully as though observing a new type of creature. He finally said, "Okay. That will work, and in return you won't say anything about my business."

"You've got yourself a deal," Lucy agreed and held out her hand.

Lucifer shook her hand with an amused look and asked, "And how will I title your checks? Mystery girl?"

"Lucy Allen is fine."

Lucifer smiled wider at her name and laughed. "Is that why you wouldn't give me your name? Because it's similar to mine?"

"It's cute how you think everything's about you," Lucy replied in a deadpan tone, even though she knew he was at last half-right.

"Oh, Lucy, everything is about me."

Lucy raised an eyebrow and pulled out her number that she had written on a napkin. It was to a disposable, so Lucy wasn't worried about giving him her number. If he got too annoying, she would just trash it at the first opportunity.

He took the number and seemed to think of something. He admitted, "There was a light that went out today. Could you take a look at it?"

"Oh, sure," Lucy replied cheerfully. A chance to make some money was always welcome.

"Maze will take you to it. I was just going to toss it, but this might be more 'eco-friendly,'" Lucifer said before walking into the room.

Maze soon walked out and said, "Follow me, Lucy."

Lucy rolled her eyes but followed. Maze took her downstairs to where one of the spot lights was sitting on a bin. Opening it to peer inside, Lucy found a couple wires that got damaged, but everything else looked fine. Lucy excused herself to go buy more wires and made it to a nearby store right before it closed. Thanking the manager, she walked back to Lux and began the repairs. Maze watched her work with a look of entertainment while occasionally throwing flirtatious glances to the other employees.

After about ten minutes of work, Lucy leaned back on the wall, pleased with her work. Luck plugged in the power cord to test it. The light turned on and brightened the room until Lucy unplugged it again. A laugh caught her attention, and she turned to see Lucifer in a suit walking toward her.

"You really fixed it," Lucifer said with amusement.

"Uh, yeah. That's kind of what I do," Lucy replied as Maze looked over her work with confusion.

"Here. For tonight," Lucifer handed her a hundred-dollar bill, and Lucy began to protest. "Take it. Consider it your signing on bonus."

"Uh, okay," Lucy said hesitantly, and Lucifer gave her a smile. "So… good night, I guess."

"You're not going to stay?" Lucifer asked disbelievingly. "You should stay and see the benefits of your work. And get a good look at the girls… or guys. They're rather enticing as well. Or you could play a song. Maybe someone here will like your Mario brothers song. We might have a book with sheet music somewhere although I can't guarantee the quality of the songs."

"The only thing I want to 'get a good look at' is the inside of my eyelids," Lucy replied, and Lucifer looked like he couldn't handle that level of disregard. "And I'm too tired to play right now."

"I've seen elderly people with more spunk," Lucifer replied haughtily.

Lucy rolled her eyes and waved goodbye. Footsteps behind her made her look back; for the devil, he had weirdly effective puppy eyes. With a sigh Lucy turned around and asked, "One song as long as someone can find the sheet music."

Lucifer immediately ordered one of the staff to find the booklet while he took Lucy by the arm and led her to the piano. He chatted with some of the partiers as Lucy tried to maintain a sense of calm. What would these people think of her music? They seemed somewhat excited by Lucy's presence. She took a deep breath as the staff member brought her a barely used booklet.

The songs were older ones, but those were typically the ones Lucy loved to play on the piano. She flipped through the pages as people stopped by to chat to Lucifer. He laid the charm on rather thick for Lucy's liking, but who was she to judge? She stopped as a song caught her eye. She believed that this group might appreciate it, but if they didn't, she didn't really care. This would probably be the last time she played here anyway.

The room went quiet as Lucy set up the book on the piano. It took a few second after she started playing for Lucifer to catch on to the song. He started to sing as Lucy played "California Dreaming" on the piano. For a few moments she was reminded of when she and her brother would do the same thing. A small, bittersweet smile crept onto her face as she once again lost herself in the music.


	10. Detective Dan

Lucy checked out the tools and stifled a yawn. She had signed on with Lucifer in the hopes that it would be a quick side job, but Lucifer had decided otherwise. Either he threw out a lot of things before he met Lucy, or the jerk was breaking things on purpose. So far either of those could be the truth. The "former" King of Hell didn't even know how to set up Wi-Fi, so him not knowing or caring how much things cost wouldn't surprise Lucy.

Letting out a sigh, she realized that the wrenches were on the other side of the aisle. She slowly walked toward the wrenches when a sudden burst of white noise caused her to hold her head in her hands. A couple walked by holding a mirror. Lucy flinched away before trying to focus on the wrenches. The one she needed was higher than she expected, and she stretched to reach the wrench despite the oncoming headache.

Mirrors had affected Lucy more and more over the past couple days. It was the same feeling as when Lucy had escaped from that dark world, but it had only been an annoyance at first. Now it caused her physical pain to even be near one. Dark's voice echoed from the mirror, and Lucy struggled to tune it out. The white noise became more grating but stopped as the couple moved further away.

Lucy wondered just what she would have do to keep him away. Spraying mirrors with a mixture of the "blessed" salt and "holy" water seemed to at least keep him from assaulting her with that noise, and she couldn't hear his odd voice. Dark sounded different when speaking to her through the mirror. Like there was another voice. Perhaps that was how he really sounded. Had he been able to control her perception of him in his world?

A shiver went up Lucy's spine as she remembered how charming he had seemed at first. At least Anti had been more upfront about his intentions, but Lucy was still glad that she hadn't seen or heard him. Was he not as strong as Dark. She could only hope. After all he was a straightforward monster but nonetheless still a monster. There had been some unexplained glitches on her computer. She had no idea whether he could cause that, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Another quick change of motels and the destruction of her laptop had made her feel safer.

With a sigh she turned the wrench in her hand. Hopefully, Caan would find the next portal soon as those monsters seemed to have a more difficult time finding her when she moved around. A loud thud caught her attention. She turned to see that a man had dropped some of the tools and hid a small grin as he cursed. At least she wasn't the only one having a bad day.

He looked flustered as he tried to quickly pick up the different tools, and Lucy walked over to help him. Kneeling, she picked up a hammer and held it up to him.

"Need some help carrying anything? I don't mind," Lucy said with a small smile. She did feel kind of bad about her amusement at his misfortune.

He took the hammer from her hand with a grateful grin and replied, "No, thanks. I've got it."

Lucy looked at the tools and asked, "So… first time building something?"

"Oh. No, but I've never really had my own tools," he replied and noticed the wrench in her hand. "What about you? Building something?"

Lucy laughed and responded while standing up, "Fixing something. My new client seems to be fond of breaking things."

The man stood up and replied, "Well, at least he found someone capable."

With a smirk, Lucy replied smugly, "Hmm… well, I am the best. So what are you working on? I could charge you a reduced fee. Flattery goes a long way in my book."

The man laughed and replied, "A new bed for my daughter." A tenderness could be heard when he spoke about his daughter, and for some reason it made Lucy uncomfortable. "I wanted to make something for her. It might be… a little extreme for me."

"How old is she?"

"What? She's two. Why?"

"Because… things can be bought. Time cannot. I assume your work keeps you busy most of the day?"

"Uh… yeah. As a detective, work keeps me pretty busy. Sometimes too busy."

"So, use your time wisely. I'm sure your family would be happier with you spending time with them."

The man raised an eyebrow at her before turning back to his items with a sigh. He gave her a shrug and struggled to keep the tools from falling. He said, "Yeah. You're probably right. There's also a big case that I'm working on… I should still buy a couple things. It'd be good to have them."

Lucy nodded in encouragement and started walking toward the register as he started to walk away.

"Oh, your parents must be very proud," the man said with a friendly smile.

"Thanks," Lucy replied with a fake smile. On the inside she still felt that heaviness in her chest at the mention of her family. Despite all the time she'd spent in different worlds, she hadn't really allowed herself to grieve for her family. She knew enough to recognize that wasn't a good thing, but she didn't really know how to fix it. Perhaps she should see a therapist while she was here.

The man hadn't seemed to notice anything weird about Lucy's reply and had disappeared into the aisles. Lucy took a deep breath and carried her wrench to the checkout counter. The man soon appeared behind her and waited for his turn in line. Lucy paid the clerk and started to leave when he started speaking to her again.

"Oh, my name is Dan by the way," he said as he put his things on the counter and held his hand.

"Lucy," she said and shook his hand. "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too, and thanks. You just saved me from something that I wasn't really prepared for. I already told my wife though. I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

Lucy shrugged and replied, "Maybe just explain your reasons. Wanting to spend more time with her and your daughter… I doubt that she'd be mad about that."

Dan smiled at her again and said, "You're just full of good ideas, aren't you?"

"Well, I am the best."

Lucy gave Dan a smile in return and walked out the store with the wrench in hand. She started walking towards Lux when her phone rang. Rolling her eyes, she fished the phone from her pocket.

"Hello, Lucifer," Lucy answered the phone with an annoyed tone. "Did you or one of your friends break something else in addition to the sink?"

"Not yet. Where are you? I called you an hour ago," Lucifer demanded.

"I had to stop at the store. I didn't have everything I need; I'm on my way now," Lucy replied and turned off the phone. The only reason that she had bought a cell phone was because Lucifer complained that it was too hard to get ahold of her, but now Lucy wanted to chuck it. Lux's lights shone in the distance. Mazikeen was standing out front angrily but smirked when she saw Lucy approach.

"You get lost?" Mazikeen asked nonchalantly. "Lucifer's waiting."

"I know," Lucy sighed. "He called. He's not a patient man. I got it."

Mazikeen led the way inside and walked to go stand behind the bar while Lucy tried to find Lucifer. He wasn't drinking in his usual place at the counter or on one of the lounges. A hand grabbed her shoulder. Lucy quickly moved out of its grip and glared at Lucifer. He stared back at her curiously.

"Where's the sink?" Lucy asked irritably, and Lucifer led the way.

Thankfully, someone had broken the mirror a few days ago, and Lucy quietly thanked the drunk as she walked into the bathroom. Someone had put a red, plastic cup under the sink's pipes to catch the falling water. Lucy rolled up her sleeves and got to work, perfectly aware that Lucifer was still watching her with an inquisitive look. She ignored him.

"What's wrong?" Lucifer finally asked with a tone of annoyance. "You nearly jumped out of your skin. Did something happen?"

"Not really," Lucy mumbled and focused on her work. When she was satisfied with her work, she got up and turned the sink on. No leaks. Lucy smiled and gathered her things. As she got up off the ground, she noticed Lucifer watching her.

"What are you afraid of, Lucy?" Lucifer asked, looking into her eyes and grabbing her arm. "What do you desire?"

The compulsion to blurt out the answers rose up in Lucy, but she looked away from Lucifer's eyes. She'd noticed that he needed eye contact to get the truth out of people. Breathing a little easier, Lucy replied, "I'm all good. There are some things… but I'll deal with them. On my own."

"Fine," Lucifer replied irritably. "It's been about two weeks since you started working for me, and I don't know anything about you still. What are you hiding?"

Lucy pulled her arm out of his hand and said, "Nothing that's any of your concern. I need to go."

Opening the door in a hurry, she bolted out of Lux and disappeared into the crowd.


	11. Secrets

Changing motels had been a pain, but getting Caan moved had been the biggest obstacle. Lucy had moved him over in the dead of night. She'd been careful not to be seen, and there had luckily been only a few people that Lucy had needed to avoid. Lucy laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Her inventions had finally paid off, and she was able to buy the jewelry back from the pawn shop without a steep markup in price. Apparently, the owner had gone through some pretty bad luck in the past couple weeks and had started trying to balance his karma.

Her wrist felt bare without the watch, but Caan had wanted to work on it. Lucy had allowed it as she had no use for it right now. All it did was give her information on the world that she was in, and Lucy had been in this one long enough to know all about it. A knock on the door sent Caan speeding into the closet with the watch.

"I know you're in there. Open up," Mazikeen ordered. "I will break this door down."

Lucy almost fell off the bed and replied shakily, "Just give me a minute!" She opened the door, and Mazikeen looked at her haughtily for a few seconds before walking inside uninvited. Lucy rolled her eyes and glanced at the closet. Caan was out of sight. "What do you want?"

"You haven't been answering Lucifer's calls," Mazikeen replied irritably. "He's… upset. You need to talk to him."

"No, not really," Lucy replied evenly to Mazikeen's glare. "It's better this way. I'm leaving soon anyway."

"That's all the more reason to talk to him now," Mazikeen argued. "Honestly, I don't see why he's so interested. We can find replacements for you. Someone to fix things… even someone to play the piano."

"See? There you go. I'm replaceable. Not important. Now can you go? How did you even find me?"

"You humans are rather easy to track," Mazikeen replied and looked around at the room. "Why are all the mirrors stacked over there?"

Lucy turned to where Mazikeen was looking. The mirrors were at the other end of the room with a sheet wrapped around them. She shrugged and replied, "It's a problem that I'm trying to take care of. Don't worry about it."

"Why don't you just ask Lucifer for help?"

"Because I don't know what the price for that will be," Lucy replied although she knew that there was another reason. She didn't know if Lucifer would take her side against Dark. They were both supernatural creatures with motivations that were hard to pin down, although Lucifer's were somewhat easier to see. He had some pretty bad daddy issues, and an ego the size of a small country.

"I could just tell Lucifer where you're staying," Mazikeen said, bringing Lucy out of her thoughts. "I've got a phone right here. So, do you want to go with me to Lux… or do you want him to come here?"

Lucy glared at Mazikeen and replied, "Fine. Let's go."

Mazikeen wore a little smirk of triumph, and Lucy followed her out the door angrily. She hadn't expected Mazikeen to be this clever. A cab waited for them down the street, and Mazikeen climbed in and told the driver the address. Lucy tried to relax as they got closer to Lucy, but what was she going to tell Lucifer? She assumed that he'd at the very least believe her. Should she tell him about Dark? Lucy could probably convince him to help her, but there'd likely be a fee of some kind.

Lux shone in the distance as the car slowly approached the club. Mazikeen paid the driver hurriedly and pushed Lucy out of the cab. Leading the way into Lux, Mazikeen paused briefly before the elevator before hitting the button. She gave off the vibe of someone wanting to ask a question but didn't say a word until the elevator stopped at the top floor.

"I have a delivery for you, Lucifer," Mazikeen called out.

A scantily-clad woman walked out of Lucifer's bedroom and gave Lucy and Mazikeen a wink as she walked to the elevator. Lucy was speechless and watched the woman press the elevator button.

"Uh, ma'am, your clothes," Lucy said weakly, but the woman just got into the elevator with a smile. The door closed, and Lucy muttered, "These weird people."

"What do you have for me, Maze?" Lucifer asked excitedly and walked into the room in his robe. His face fell as he saw Lucy, and he asked, "What's this about?"

"I felt… that you two need to talk. I'll be downstairs if you need me," Mazikeen answered and walked slowly to the elevator.

Lucifer walked over to his bar and poured himself a drink. He looked at Lucy and asked, "Here to apologize? Or are you here to tell me to mind my own business?"

"Neither," Lucy replied, earning an inquisitive look from Lucifer. "I'm here to explain."

"Oh, this should be good," Lucifer said with a laugh as Mazikeen got into the elevator. "You just don't want to be around the devil. I get it. Afraid that I might make you do something? That I'll corrupt your oh-so pure soul?"

"Nope. Not at all. Nice guesses though. I'm… not from around here."

Lucifer gave her a look as he took a drink. He asked, "Are you running from someone? A psycho ex? It would explain why you're so… guarded."

"Yes and no. There is someone, or rather something, after me. It's not an ex though."

"Something? What is it?"

"I don't know… it looks like a man. He calls himself Dark. When I said that I'm not from around here, I meant that I'm not from this world. I'm from a different one, and I've been trying to get back home. I've been to a couple different worlds now. In one of them, I met Dark."

"And this Dark… he's been following you? Is he trying to hurt you?"

"Yes… no. I don't know what he wants, but lately… when I'm around mirrors, there's an awful noise like white noise, but it's in my head. I can hear him too. I can't really make out his words. The white noise hurts my head too much for me to concentrate. Sometimes… my name but that's it."

Lucifer went silent and drank the rest of the whisky in his glass. His eyes glowed red for a second, and the glass made a loud sound when he set it back on the table.

"As soon as I find a way to get to another world, I should be fine. I just… need to focus. The world that I'm from… there's someone waiting for me. You remind me a bit of her."

"Beautiful, intelligent, and charming?"

"More like impudent, intrusive, and narcissistic but I think that you're more than what you portray yourself to be."

"Oh, honey, I'm Lucifer. Charming and powerful, what more could there be?" Lucifer scoffed and poured himself another glass.

"As much as you want there to be," Lucy responded plainly. "Why aren't you in Hell, Lucifer? Maybe it's because you wanted more than what your father burdened you with or maybe you just want something more in life. Whatever. I just hope your happy with it."

Lucifer laughed and replied, "All because I hired you? Do you think that I can be 'redeemed'?"

"The Mistress was. And besides… what I think doesn't really matter. Is that what you want? Redemption? Whatever the reason you're here, I hope it all works out for you."

"Are you going to pray for me?" Lucifer asked tauntingly. He was clearly upset. Her words had apparently meant more to him than he wanted to let on.

"I don't believe in that prayer stuff."

"So she says to the Devil," Lucifer retorted with a side look at her and a sip from the glass.

"Well, I believe that God is more like a mad scientist than a father figure anyway."

Lucifer set the glass down and said with a guarded but inquisitive look, "Go on."

"If he created everything, then why wouldn't everything go his way? The answer to that would be free will and with that comes consequences: the good and the bad. He created everything and now just wants to watch how everything plays out."

"So dear old dad just wants to see what I do?" Lucifer asked with a laugh. "My father doesn't care one way or another what I do. Even now. I've left Hell, and what's he doing? Nothing so I'll continue to do what I haven't done in a long time. Have a good time."

Lucifer grabbed the glass again and drained it. His alcohol consumption would worry Lucy, but she assumed that it didn't affect him the same way it would a human. He set the glass back down and turned back to Lucy.

"Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning? You can just stay here. At Lux. I doubt that 'Dark' would bother you around me."

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't stay here," Lucy said. "People in my world… they probably think that I'm dead… or worse. I need to find a way back as quickly as I can. You said earlier that I'm hiding something. I am but because it's not my secret to tell. I'll ask if he couldn't mind meeting you. That's the best I can promise for now."

Lucifer sighed and replied, "I guess I'll just have to wait… for now." His tone told her that he was mostly joking, and Lucy smiled in return.


	12. The Watch

Caan had agreed to meet Lucifer although he did so with a morose demeanor. Lucy couldn't quite explain it, but she knew he was being odd. Well, being even more odd. He barely spoke a word as Lucy started packing her backpack with the essentials. Working on the watch had seemed to take his complete attention for the past couple days now, and Lucy didn't even know what he was doing to it. Every time she peeked at the watch, Caan would stop working on it and hide it from view. Lucy reasoned that even if he broke it she could always make another.

A knock on the door startled Lucy. They were early, which was extremely odd for either of them. Lucy walked to the door, opened it, and ushered them inside while peeking outside to make sure that no one was outside. Satisfied by the lack of onlookers, she closed the door and watched Lucifer's and Mazikeen's expressions. The moment they saw Caan their smug looks were replaced by looks of curiosity and wonder.

"Don't touch him," Lucy warned Lucifer, who had reached out to Caan. "He tends to accidentally disintegrate whatever touches him."

Lucifer gave Lucy a curious look but withdrew his hand. He asked, "What even is 'he'? A killer robot? A trash bin? A robotic, killer trash bin?"

"No, there is an organic life form within the suit, but he feels more comfortable inside the suit. It's what his kind usually wear. Most of it contains things that help keep him alive."

"Interesting. Are the suits normally this… colorful?"

Lucy glared at him but responded evenly, "No, his suit was damaged too much. I had to use pieces and scraps of other Dalek suits and wreckage to rebuild him. I was lucky… I landed in a world with a blacksmith nearby. A dwarf who was more than willing to take the gold pieces in return for helping me put Caan's suit together."

Lucifer smirked and asked, "Like a little person or the fantasy creature?"

"Neither. Both. I don't know. I wasn't really asking many questions other than how to put him together and whether we should."

"Why wouldn't you?" Mazikeen asked with a suspicious glance to Caan.

"I read about his kind in Missy's library. They're 'exterminators' that destroy pretty much everything in their path. They feel nothing but hatred for everything that isn't one of them and want to destroy it. Caan is… odd. I think seeing everything that his species has done changed him. He doesn't like to talk about it, right, Caan?"

Caan said nothing in reply and continued to work on the watch. Lucy shrugged at Lucifer and Mazikeen and continued packing the rest of her things. She assumed that they would leave when they were ready or when Lucy and Caan decided to leave. Either way she needed to get everything ready. It was a long way to the next breach.

"I need to talk to you," Mazikeen said suddenly from her right, causing Lucy to jump a little. "Alone."

Lucy followed Mazikeen's gaze to Lucifer. He was watching Caan mess with the watch, which Caan didn't seem to mind. It was unlikely that Lucifer would understand what he was doing anyway. Lucy turned back to Mazikeen and led her into the bedroom. Leaving the door slightly ajar, Lucy gave Mazikeen with a curious look. These chats never ended well, but D'Artagnan sleeping on the bed as a cat made Lucy more comfortable.

"So… why are you leaving? Not that I care but… wouldn't it be safer here? Lucifer wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and I could take care of your problem. What's after you? Is that why you've got your mirrors on lockdown?"

Lucy sighed and responded wearily, "I don't know what he… it is. I just know that I need to keep moving anyway. Lucifer is your boss, right? And you look after him."

Mazikeen nodded and asked, "So?"

"Well, I have someone who's like Lucifer to me… I mean to you… I'm not making any sense right now," Lucy stopped talking and took a moment to gather herself. "I have someone who I need to protect. Someone… who I love and want to see again. That's why I'm doing all of this world-hopping. I want to get back home. To her. So… I can't, and I won't, stop until I find her. Granted, it might take years, but I need to see her again."

Mazikeen tilted her head at Lucy as though she was thinking it over. She replied with a smirk, "So, that's why you weren't interested in Lucifer or me… you already have someone."

"Uh, what? Interested in what?"

Mazikeen gave her a flirtatious smile and got closer, causing Lucy to panic and take a quick step back to the door. Lucy's face flushed as Mazikeen laughed. She'd noticed that Lucifer and Mazikeen had many lovers, but she'd never considered that she could be viewed as one of them.

"You should be a comedian," Lucy muttered under her breath and opened the door.

Lucifer was giving a confused look to Caan as Lucy entered the room. Caan seemed to be done with the watch now, and Lucy walked over to pick it up.

"So… can I ask what you did to it?" Lucy said as she looked over the watch.

"Yes," Caan replied.

Lucy waited a few seconds for him to explain, and when he didn't, she sighed and asked, "What did you do to it, Caan?"

"I made it useful," Caan replied with a giggle.

Lucifer laughed, and Lucy glared at the both of them. "How? What features did you add?"

"A return. You can go back to any world that's been logged into the system."

Lucy smiled and replied, "Oh, good. So if I end up in too much trouble, I can escape… but you won't go back with me, right?"

"That will not be necessary."

"Oh, that makes sense. If I just log the world into the system before I leave, then I can come back and find you," Lucy responded cheerfully and played with the watch's new settings. "Thank you, Caan. You're a miracle worker."

Caan said nothing in reply, and Lucy noticed that Lucifer gave Caan a concerned look. Before Lucy could ask, Mazikeen walked back into the room with a smirk still on her face.

"I didn't know that you kept a cat," Mazikeen remarked as D'Artagnan followed her out of the room.

"Ugh, really, Lucy?" Lucifer asked and gave D'Artagnan a wary look. "Cats are easily the worst pet. Hold nothing but contempt for the very people who look after them."

"Sounds familiar," Lucy joked, and Lucifer looked offended. "Just kidding. D'Artagnan isn't really a cat."

"Oh, is this an alien piloting a cat suit?"

"Not really. He's a shapeshifter," Lucy explained, and D'Artagnan shifted into a bird as though to prove it. "In all honesty, I don't really know what he is or where he's from, but he's a loyal friend."

"How cute," Mazikeen said, and Lucy glared at her. "Don't give me that look. You might give me ideas." Mazikeen gave her a wink, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You can return to Lux when you need to," Lucifer spoke up hesitantly and didn't look Lucy in the eye. "Since you can now return to a world… if things get too… unpleasant, there's always a place for you at Lux. After all, there's always something that needs repairs."

Lucifer looked at her with a small, sad smile, and Lucy walked over. She reached out her hand to him and replied, "Thank you. And yeah, I'm sure that you'll break something by the time I get back. Probably a lot of things."

Lucifer laughed and shook her hand. Mazikeen rolled her eyes when Lucy turned to her, but Lucy continued, "I can't say that it was 'nice' meeting you, but you certainly know how to keep things interesting."

Mazikeen smirked and walked over. She took out a curved knife and placed it into Lucy's hand. She replied, "You too. That's a demon knife. It can even injure angels, so it should be able to injure whatever is messing with you. When you come back, bring me something interesting."

"Thanks, Mazikeen. And I'm sure that I'll find something."

"You can call me Maze," Mazikeen said airily as though it didn't really matter.

"Okay, Maze. Well, Caan and I need to get to the 'heartland.' You guys have fun on your 'vacation.'"

"Don't you worry about that," Lucifer replied with a smirk and shared a mischievous look with Maze. "We have plenty to keep us busy in your absence."

Lucy opened the front door and looked outside to see how many people were outside. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be at some hippie festival or something. Lucy threw a large cardboard box onto Caan, and he wheeled himself outside. An old beaten up truck waited for them outside. Buying and fixing it had been worth the money since Lucy knew how far they had to go. Even with the car it would take time for them to find the next breach. At least they wouldn't need to stop at a motel. Lucy could easily sleep in the truck; she just hoped it wouldn't rain. Caan only had a cardboard box for protection.

Caan flew into the bed of the truck, and Lucy climbed inside. Waving goodbye to Lucifer and Maze, she started the truck. With a roar the engine sprung to life, and Lucy drove off toward the highway. With the windows down, she cruised down the road thinking about what next awaited her.


	13. JE3: Something Supernatural

Another journal entry… yay. But I felt the need to write this down for future reference. For one, Caan's attitude has done a complete 180. When we were in the world with Lucifer, I was actually worried that he was sick or even depressed. Imagine that. A depressed Dalek… but now he's running around like nothing happened. WHAT is going on? WHY did his attitude suddenly change? HOW am I going to deal with this manic, crazy Dalek?

Anyway… he once again ran off, and I tried to follow him. But I lost him. There was no point in sticking around, so I got a motel room to get some sleep. In the morning, some guys are walking around the complex asking if anyone had seen anything strange. Of course, I lied, but I think that the taller one caught onto me. What was I going to say? Yes, sirs. I am the strange being here, and my sidekick, the ex-homicidal robotic salt shaker, and I travel to different worlds trying to get home.

No. Not at all. I can tell that they're staking out my motel room. A car pulled up a little while ago and hasn't moved. I guess I'll just go get something to eat and lead them away from the motel. That way if Caan causes trouble they won't think that I'm behind it and I'll lead them away from the scene. To be honest, I'm pretty sure that they aren't really FBI agents.

Those badges looked… off. Not that I've seen more than a police badge up close, but I know a conman when I see one. Whatever or whoever they are… I won't let them hurt or kidnap Caan, not that they probably could. I wish Lucifer and Maze were here. Lucifer could use his weird eye thing and make them tell the truth, and Maze… she could beat them up if Lucy didn't like their answer. Maze was always raring for a fight.

Maybe I just miss them in general. We weren't the best of friends, but I spent more time with them than I have with anyone besides my family and Missy. But maybe I'm just being overly sentimental and need to get back to the facts of the situation.

I heard those 'agents' earlier in the day before they started interviewing people. Apparently, they were investigating the reports of a 'golden man,' who could make people disappear with a touch. Part of that sounded like Caan, but part of it was very off. Maybe people had made up the 'golden man' thing because a robotic trash can sounds even more unbelievable.

But there is one thing that bothers me: what if Caan and I weren't the only ones to escape time? What if something else followed us? What if Caan hasn't been leading me to the breaches to get home but to escape something else? I don't like thinking about it. I need to find Caan tomorrow, and we need to leave. At least leave the area. Who knows what this 'golden man' could be?

The only other people that I think could have that ability are the other girls who were experimented on and The Monk. A 'golden man' leads me to believe that it would be The Monk, but who knows. I've seen weirder things. Maybe this world just has a creature with abilities similar to Caan and me. Maybe I have nothing to worry about. Except those agents.

Binoculars would come in handy right now. I can't even see how many of them are in the car right now. Did they plant a listening device somewhere or are they just stupidly waiting for bad things to happen? Is it just one of them? Both? Or did they bring friends?

I do have pepper spray. I got that after dealing with those Savior jerks. I need to remember to get binoculars now though.

So… the short version: need binoculars, don't trust 'agents', Caan could be causing trouble or in trouble, and golden man might be an issue.

Okay. Great. Sounds fun.


	14. Garth and the Shifter

A breeze blew through the trees above Lucy, and she pulled her sweatshirt down over her head. She wasn't expecting it be this cold. She had been chasing after Caan for a few hours now, and the sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon. Every time Lucy caught up to him he bolted away. What was he up to now? Was he leading her or running from her? A sigh of frustration escaped Lucy's lips, and she sat down on a tree stump.

What was she doing? Those 'agents' were probably still searching for them. Even though Lucy had made sure that they hadn't left any clues to where they were going, she didn't know how competent those guys were. Lucy had made it two towns away before Caan had started acting weirder than usual. She hoped the distance would at least buy her some time.

An odd, squishing sound came from the bushes, and Lucy's hair stood on end. With a wince she pulled the laser screwdriver from her arm. Careful to not make much sound, she walked slowly toward the bushes and aimed the screwdriver. A strange gelatinous substance was on the ground beneath the bushed. She aimed the screwdrivers light toward it and took a step back. It looked like skin. Her stomach felt queasy as she looked to see if there were any tracks of whatever had caused this. Nothing.

A stick breaking behind her caught her attention, and she swiveled around with her screwdriver ready. A lanky man stood with a gun pointed at her. His hands slightly trembled, but he stood resolute. A woman came out of the bushes from Lucy's right.

"It's her, Garth! I saw her change in the bushes behind her!" the woman shouted and pointed to Lucy.

Lucy raised her eyebrows but kept most of her attention on the man with the gun. She asked, "What does that mean? I changed? Look. Just stop pointing your gun at me, and we can go our separate ways."

"She's the shifter!" the woman yelled again desperately. "Don't let her get away! She's hurt people. Good people. Just shoot her now."

Garth looked to the woman and asked in an odd tone, "Where's your necklace, Bess?"

Bess bolted into the trees, and Garth followed, leaving Lucy dumbstruck at the turn of events.

"What's going on here?" Lucy whispered to herself before seeing Bess stumble out of the trees from the opposite path of where she had fled. Lucy hesitated for a second before creeping closer.

The side of Bess' dress was stained with blood, and Lucy noticed she now wore a necklace with a bullet for a pendant. Bess' breathing was heavy and shallow. Suspecting a trap, Lucy edged forward slowly and pulled the demon knife out with her free hand. As the screwdriver's light shone on her, Bess hissed, and her face changed. Sharp teeth and glowing eyes made Lucy take a step backwards.

"Did that Garth guy do this to you?" Lucy asked warily, and Bess' face changed back to a human one.

"No! It was the shifter! It tied me up and changed into me. Where did he go? I need to get him; it's a trap."

Lucy thought over her options for a moment. If she let the woman go, it was likely that she would be easy prey for whatever that thing was. Even now it could be a trap. Lucy scratched her head and sighed; she said with a resigned look, "No, wait here, and hide somewhere. I'll go help Garth. You'll be more of a burden than a help right now."

Bess looked irritated but slowly nodded. Clearly, the wound was hurting her, and she was in no condition to fight this thing. Lucy gave her a motel key. Bess looked at her curiously and took the key.

"It's to my room. Over the ridge over there. There are bandages in a bag there," Lucy said awkwardly with mild embarrassment. "You should at least try to stop the bleeding."

"Thank you," Bess said with a genuine smile. "Please… help my husband."

As Bess stumbled toward the motel, Lucy flipped the knife in her hand and put it back in her pocket. She didn't want Garth to register her as a threat. Again. Walking towards where Garth and the 'shifter' had vanished, D'Artagnan turned himself into mouse and crawled into Lucy's side pocket of her sweatshirt. He had grown used to disguising himself as a scarf or tie, but he seemed to prefer to be in an animate form when danger was close.

"Hey," a whisper came from the brush, and Garth stepped out warily. "Sorry about before, but you should leave. It's dangerous out here. Where's Bess? Is she safe?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Lucy said before she realized something. "Actually, she's in my motel room. It's that way. You have to go over a river to get there. It's a bit of a walk, but she needs medical attention."

"Thanks," Garth said before shooting Lucy with the gun. "I'll be sure to take care of her."

His eyes glowed an odd silver, and he walked in the direction that Lucy had pointed. Lucy's vision went black, and she felt the tugging of Time, trying to bring her back into its embrace. She fought it again and ripped herself from its grip as she awoke with a gasp.

"What are you?" Garth said and backed away from Lucy. The worry in his eyes and his tone made Lucy certain that this wasn't the creature that shot her.

"Hell if I know," Lucy replied and got up with a wince. The wound had closed, but the area was still tender. "Now excuse me while I go stab the hell out of that thing."

Garth grabbed her arm as she got up and said, "I'll go. Bess is in trouble."

"No, not really."

"What? But you told him, 'me', that she was in a motel."

"Yeah, but I lied about the location. It seemed weird that it knew that I'd seen Bess or that Bess had gotten freed."

"And how do you know that I'm not the shifter?" Garth asked angrily.

"You're too upset to be shifter and not scared enough. Also you look different."

"How so?"

"More stupid," Lucy said, and Garth gave her a hurt look. Hanging out with Lucifer had clearly made her more… brusque. "Sorry. You're also wearing the bullet thing. Now he's probably going to come back any moment now, and as I said before with the stabbing thing." Lucy took out the demon knife and gave it a wave.

Garth looked at it doubtfully and said, "Normal knives don't work on shifters. Silver does."

"Good thing that this isn't a normal knife," Lucy said with confidence. If it could hurt angels from another world, odds were that it would at least injure this thing. "But we may want to have a backup plan."

Garth nodded and took out a knife of his own. He asked sheepishly, "I'm grateful for the help, but are you sure that you wanna do this?"

"Yup. It shot and killed me, and that hurt. So, now… I'm just going to get even."

Lucy led the way into the forest, making sure to keep an eye on Garth. She was relatively sure that this one was the real one since he hadn't asked about where Bess was. No doubt that he didn't want the shifter to watch out. D'Artagnan started to shiver, and Lucy was grateful that the creature had aimed for her chest. She didn't think a gunshot would kill D'Artagnan, but she didn't want to find out.

A scream echoed from the darkness, and Garth and Lucy quickly bolted towards the sound. One of the agents from earlier stood above the shifter, who was still in Garth's form and flailing on the ground. Garth breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy backed away while Garth greeted the man cheerfully.

"Dean! So glad you're here… wait, did you hear about the shifter?"

"No. Didn't even know there was one until this one sprang up on me," Dean growled. "Why are you here? I thought that you were chilling with the were-church."

"I was, but…" Garth's voice got quieter as Lucy sneaked into the underbrush.

Luckily this Dean guy was too focused on the shifter and Garth to notice her slip away. Deciding to run for it, Lucy kept an eye out for the other 'agent.' He didn't seem to be around. Lucy made her way to her motel room to get her things. Bess hesitantly answered the door and thanked Lucy for her help.

"I didn't do much, but Garth is okay," Lucy assured her and grabbed her backpack. "He's waiting further down the trail. You can stay here if you want. The room's paid for, but I need to leave."

Bess smiled and responded, "We have our ways of finding each other. Why are you leaving so soon?"

"I've got a friend that needs my help. So… sorry. Got to run," Lucy replied and started to walk out the door when her head hit something… or rather someone.

"Oh, sorry," Garth said sincerely. "Oh, Dean, this is our new friend. She really helped us out."

"We've met," the other agent said and gave Lucy a meaningful look. "At the hotel a few towns over. Lucy, right?"

Lucy nodded and weighed her options. Both of the 'agents' were far too big for her to knock down by herself, and Garth seemed to be friends with them. Were they some kind of monster-hunters? First the golden man and now a 'shifter.'

"I've got to go. Very busy, you know. Bye," Lucy said and shoved past Garth only to have Dean block her way.

"Whoa, guys," Garth said uneasily. "She's cool."

"She's been at the scene of two weird sightings," Dean growled. "I don't think that's a coincidence. We just need to ask her a few questions."


	15. Unfinished Business

"What do you want to know?" Lucy asked with far more confidence than she felt. "Are you still after the elusive golden man? If so, I can't help you."

"Can't or won't?" Dean retorted with a scowl.

"Can't. I haven't seen it, and to be honest I'm pretty sure that a bunch of old drunks made it up to scare the young'uns."

"But you have seen something strange. You were acting… suspicious last time we talked to you?" the taller one said with certainty.

Lucy's heart beat fast as she struggled not to panic. These people seemed like they could be a threat to Caan, but would it be better to warn them of him? If not, they might see him as a threat and try to kill him. Lucy sighed and responded, "Well, to be honest I lost a… creation of sorts, but he's not a 'golden man.' He's a robot. I built him, and unfortunately a circuit seems to be loose. He's rolling around like a loon, and I can't catch up to him. He's not whatever you're after though."

"A robot? Yeah, we actually did get report of that," the taller one said and turned to Dean.

Lucy took a breath to calm herself. That idiot had been seen by people; what was he doing?

"Okay," Dean responded and turned to Lucy. "But why didn't you just say something before?"

"He's an AI, which means that he can think independently," Lucy explained when she saw Dean's look of confusion. "He's worth a lot, and I couldn't just go around telling people that he was out there for anyone to steal. You're not even real agents. Real agents don't investigate 'golden men who can make people disappear with a touch.' I heard you talking to each other."

The two men gave each other a look, and Garth went to check on his wife. Clearly, he didn't think that they were a threat.

"Sorry about that," the tall one said and held out a hand. "I'm Sam. This is Dean. He's a bit… straightforward."

Lucy shook Sam's hand as Dean threw him an irritated look. After looking back and forth between them, Lucy pulled her hand back and crossed her arms defensively. They didn't seem like bad people, but she needed to be careful. Caan could still be in danger.

Faking a smile, Lucy turned back around to see Garth gingerly making sure that Bess' wound was bandaged tightly. Bess winced but seemed to be doing better. The sound of whispering behind her made her turn back to Sam and Dean; they were quietly arguing over what to do next. Lucy took the opportunity to dodge around them and head out the door with her backpack in hand. A hand on her shoulder made her stop.

"That's a bad idea," Sam said with pleading eyes. "There really is something out there. People have gone missing."

"And what makes you think that I can't handle myself?" Lucy asked coldly and started walking into the forest.

"Hey!" Dean shouted angrily. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Already did today but thanks for the concern," Lucy replied and quickly walked into the brush. Losing them might take a bit of maneuvering, but she was sure that she could do it if necessary.

"What?" Dean asked incredulously.

"It's true," Garth said from further back, and Lucy took their momentary surprise as a cue to bolt.

"Dammit, wait!" Dean shouted, but Lucy already had an impressive lead.

The sun had already disappeared, but Lucy remembered enough of the forest to lose them. She hugged the backpack to her chest as she ran. Choosing small pathways that would take them longer to maneuver through, Lucy made her way through the forest. There was a shopping center where she could lay low until she was sure that she'd lost them. A groan to her left caught her attention, and a man stumbled out. He seemed to be drunk at first. Swaying as he walked, he made his way toward Lucy, but it was his skin that caused Lucy to jump back.

His veins seemed to glow with a golden light, and when he looked up from the ground and into Lucy's eyes, his eyes illuminated his face with a golden glow. Lucy backed away slowly. The Monk shambled toward her, and she heard branches break from her right. A large hand gripped her arm and pulled her away. Dean nearly dragged her behind him as he ran.

"Do you believe me now?!" Dean asked angrily, and for once Lucy was speechless.

The Monk had disappeared inside the machine that The Rani was planning to use on Lucy. She had assumed that he'd died, but Time had changed him as well. Had it sent him to bring her back? Lucy tried to focus more on running instead. It stressed her heart out less than the monstrosity that was after them, but suddenly Dean stopped. Lucy barely avoided crashing into him.

"What were you thinking?! We just said that there's something out there, and you go running straight for it! Are you insane?!" Dean yelled, and Lucy took a second to catch her breath and collect her thoughts.

"I wasn't expecting to find it," Lucy retorted defensively. "Seems like I'm extra unlucky today. Where's the other one? Sam?"

Dean looked around and cursed under his breath. After seemingly deciding where to go, he gestured for Lucy to follow him. She complied and looked behind him. Luckily it seemed like The Monk had difficulty walking quickly, so that would give them time to escape. A movement caught her eye, and she grabbed Dean's sleeve. He raised his gun but immediately lowered it. Sam came out of the bushes and dusted himself off with an odd look at Dean.

"Oh, good. You found her. I think I found your robot. It ran away before I could do anything," Sam said wearily.

"Good. You shouldn't touch him… He has some problems that I still need to work out," Lucy explained and thought about what to do next while Dean and Sam fought. Would Caan escape without her? He must have been acting strangely due to The Monk's influence. Rustling caught her attention, and D'Artagnan made an odd noise.

As The Monk stepped back out of the trees, Lucy realized that D'Artagnan was terrified of this thing. Dean stepped in front of Lucy and fired the gun at The Monk. Bullets disintegrated into a fine dust as they struck him, and Dean stopped. The Monk slowly walked toward them.

"Lucy… Allen," The Monk said in a voice that was not his own. It was female and oddly sinister. "I've been… searching for you. The process is… incomplete. Please return… to Time. I've done so much work."

Lucy took a step back and thought over her options. This had to be 'The Rani.' She was probably the only one capable, or knowledgeable, enough to pilot The Monk like a puppet.

"You already have him. He looks good enough. Why not use him?" Lucy said and backed away.

The Monk's hand raised revealing that the skin was withering away. The Rani said irritably, "His body isn't… suitable for my purposes. Don't make this… harder than it needs to be. It'd be a shame… for those boys to become… an obstacle."

Dean looked from Lucy to The Monk in confusion but said, "Dude… lady? We aren't going anywhere. I suggest you get going."

Laughter rose from The Monk as his body glowed ominously. Dean fired more shots, but The Monk's body didn't even flinch. Sam was shouting an incantation of some kind. The Monk merely regarded him for a moment with irritation before he suddenly appeared in front of Sam. He had moved so fast that all Lucy had seen was a flash of light. He reached out to Sam when a scream pierced the night air, and Caan collided with The Monk. The Rani let out a scream of frustration. Caan and The Monk's body emitted golden sparks, clashing with each other before both disappeared.

"Wait," Lucy whispered and looked around, expecting him to come flying out of the trees, but there was nothing but silence. No screaming, no laughter.

A beeping sound broke Lucy from her daze. The watch that Caan had upgraded was beeping and flashing an arrow. Lucy ran toward the arrow and found a breach to another world; she started to run to it when Sam's voice made her turn around.

"What was that, Lucy? Is something after you?" Sam asked as though trying to conceal an accusatory tone with concern.

"I… I'm sorry. I have to go. Caan… he might be through here," Lucy explained and realized how desperate and uncertain she sounded. Like a child. She hated that; it made her sound… Caan had to be okay. He was probably just waiting on the other side. That made sense. She would jump through, and he'd be waiting on the other side before bolting off to cause trouble. Everything was fine. She tried to calm herself, but the sound of white noise in her head made it difficult to concentrate.

Her tone had made Dean and Sam look at each other, and Dean's voice lost its edge, "It's okay. Come on. We'll go back to the motel and figure things out. Just… that's dangerous."

Lucy gave Dean and Sam a small smile and said, "I'm sorry." She quickly jumped through the breach before they could get close enough to stop her. It closed behind her, and she felt herself get swept into another world. Alone.


	16. Barry Allen

Birds flew overhead as Lucy sat on a park bench. It had been a couple weeks since she had gotten to this world, and Caan was still gone. Soon she'd have to start thinking of a way to get back without him. A giggle surprised her, and she turned to see a couple walking toward her. They were probably looking for a bench. Lucy got up and walked toward the lake as she thought about what she needed to do next.

The watch had alerted her to the breach to this world, but it hadn't made a sound since. Even if it had, Lucy wasn't sure if she'd go. The return of The Monk had made Lucy wonder about Caan's insistence on going to a new world. Had he really been leading her towards their world or away from The Rani's manipulations? If so, then shouldn't she find a different way to get home? Maybe there was a way to get home directly from this world. Central City was nice enough, but thoughts of what Missy was doing kept Lucy awake at night.

Lucy was careful not to get too close to the lake. The reflective surface might be enough for Dark to get in her head again. It had become increasingly difficult to tune him out recently, and Lucy suspected that it had something to do with Caan no longer being there. A wet patch almost tripped Lucy. Stumbling back onto the sidewalk, Lucy nearly collided with someone and fell to the ground.

"Sorry about that. I was thinking about… things," a familiar voice explained awkwardly, and Lucy looked up to see her brother. Her breath caught in her throat as he offered her his hand with a smile. She took his hand hesitantly. As he helped her back onto her feet, Lucy couldn't help staring at him. It was Barry. Barry was alive, but he wasn't her Barry.

"It's no problem," Lucy said quickly and looked away. "I wasn't paying attention either. Thanks."

"Ah, guess we're two of a kind," Barry said cheerfully. "I was supposed to meet a friend here, but… classes are taking longer than expected." Barry chattered on nervously and looked around. "But you probably don't care about that."

"No, it's fine. Want to get a coffee with me? I'm new here, so I'd be happy to talk to a local," Lucy said with a smile. "Find out what's cool in Central City."

Barry's face brightened, and he said excitedly, "Oh, sure! There's a place nearby. Jitters. It's a pretty cool place in my opinion."

"Sounds good. Lead on, good sir," Lucy replied. "My name's Lucy by the way."

"Oh, right. I'm Barry. Nice to meet you," Barry said as he led the way to Jitters.

There was a sizable line in the coffee shop, but it was decently priced. Barry spent the time that they were in the line chatting about the different specials. Lucy felt an odd twinge in her heart. Less of a flutter and more of a pain but it was worth it. Seeing a version of her brother alive and well was worth any pain, and she briefly wondered if her mom and dad were here too. After they placed their orders, they found a booth and waited for their coffee.

"You know a lot about this place," Lucy said and noticed Barry twitch in surprise. "You work here?"

"Ah, no, my friend… the one I was waiting for… she does. Work here, I mean."

"You mean, your girlfriend?" Lucy asked with a fake innocence.

Barry's face went red, and he answered quickly, "No! No, just a friend. We've been friends since we were little, you know. We look out for each other… and stuff."

Lucy hid her smile as Barry left to pick up their orders. When he returned, she asked, "So any events happening here? I haven't seen much of the place."

"So you don't know?" Barry asked excitedly before explaining, "The particle accelerator's going active in a couple weeks. I don't know if you're planning on staying here that long though."

"I might. That sounds interesting enough," Lucy answered, both disappointed and pleasantly surprised. She'd expected him to say something related to the theatre, but she had to admit that the particle accelerator sounded fascinating.

"I'll be going to STAR Labs on the day of. You should come too if you can. I'm going with my friend, but I'm sure that she wouldn't mind you joining us."

"Maybe. But I've heard that three's a crowd," Lucy said teasingly, and Barry's face flushed a bit.

"I'm not very good at hiding it, am I?" Barry mumbled and hid his face with his hand.

"Nope. Not at all."

Barry sighed and said, "You could at least pretend that I'm not so obvious."

"I don't lie, kiddo," Lucy said with a chuckle. She did lie quite often but never to him, and she didn't think that she could.

"Kiddo? You look like you're about the same age as me."

"Yeah? I'm really hundreds of years old. Coffee keeps me young. Oh, and the dying dreams of today's youth," Lucy said and looked to a college student whom was staring at his computer screen in confusion and frustration.

Barry hid a laugh and said, "A little dark."

"It fuels me," Lucy said offhandedly before thinking about Caan. "Have you heard of anything weird going on?"

"Weird? How?"

"I like to check out mysteries and stuff," Lucy replied with a shrug. "No ghosts or killer robots running around?"

Barry laughed and said, "Nope. There is a creepy abandoned building out of town, but I'm pretty sure that it's just old. Not haunted. So… you like mysteries?"

"Sure do," Lucy replied and tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Even though she doubted that she'd find Caan, she was still hopeful. Barry looked like he wanted to tell her something but stopped abruptly. Lucy turned around to see another familiar face enter the coffee shop. Iris gave Barry and Lucy an unsure smile as she walked over.

"Hey, I'm Iris. You're one of Barry's friends?" Iris asked with a smile.

"She's new here. I was telling her about the particle accelerator," Barry said quickly and looked embarrassed.

Iris rolled her eyes but smiled. "He's really looking forward to that. Are you coming with us?"

"Ah, no actually," Lucy said and grabbed her drink. "It was nice meeting you, but I just realized that I have some errands to finish. Thanks, Barry. See you around."

Lucy waved goodbye and left the coffee shop. A sigh escaped her lips as the door closed behind her. Seeing a different version of her brother was strange enough, but his best friend Iris was here too. Her heart had started beating heavily and was just now calming down. How many people did she know here? Had they been other worlds as well?

Caan had been leading her place to place, so she'd never really had time to hang around. Most of the time she was running away from strange people or creatures. Not an ideal time to look around. The hotel lobby was empty as Lucy walked inside the hotel. She briefly considered extending her stay, but a long-term hotel would be the smarter choice. The elevator made a creak as the doors closed behind her. That made her nervous. Maybe she could fix it before she left, but she doubted that they'd allow someone with no real credentials to fix it.

Her laptop sat on the bedside table. She realized that she should probably get some kind of bag to carry it. While she doubted that someone would steal it, she knew that they definitely could. With a little trepidation she began to look up information on Barry Allen. The headline "Doctor Accused of Killing His Wife" caught her eye, and she clicked the link with some hesitation.

"Nora Allen found dead," the article said, causing Lucy to push the laptop away.

Her head rested on her knees as she tried to process the article. A noise from the closet made her look up, and she realized that Dark was trying to speak to her. All of the mirrors in the room had been put in the closet. Lucy had requested that they be taken out altogether, but the management said that all of the furniture needed to stay in the rooms even though Lucy knew that they just didn't want to have to find a new place for the mirrors.

"I can help you, Lucy," Dark's voice called out sweetly as though sensing her emotional turmoil. "Please just speak to me."

Lucy got up and opened the closet door. He wasn't trying to control her with that horrible white noise right now, and she couldn't help but want to hear what he would say.

"Help me with what?" Lucy asked as coldly as she could. She didn't want him to know her desperation.

Dark gave her a smile and replied, "You're afraid. I saw the golden man. He's a bit like you, isn't he? He was trying to drag you back somewhere. I can help you. To stay in this world. Any world. It's not fair. Why are you the one who needs to suffer? Just let me in, and I can give you anything you want."

"Liar, liar!" a voice called out from behind Lucy in a childish tone, and she turned to see Anti's face on her laptop screen. "He's a liar and a cheat. Don't listen to him."

"Okay," Lucy replied and took the laptop and her backpack out of the room. She checked out of the hotel and slammed the laptop into the dumpster outside. Breaking it into pieces before walking off to find a new place to stay.


	17. A Flash of Lightning

Newspapers covered almost every surface of Lucy's new place. An extended stay facility had been the right call, and when she had asked them to remove the mirrors, they had done so. Sure, they had looked confused, but Lucy doubted that it was the weirdest thing a customer had asked. A Dark-free working space had calmed Lucy down significantly over the last couple weeks. There was still no sign of Caan, but other things had occupied Lucy's thoughts.

Barry had said to the police that a man in a blur had killed his mother. Lucy believed him. She'd dealt with vampires, werewolves, and 'shifters.' She could deal with this man. She would find this man and find a way to get her father out of jail. Not her father. A version of her father, Lucy told herself bitterly. The lines had gotten blurred over the investigation, but she had to remember that this wasn't her world. Barry wasn't her brother.

Her phone buzzed, and she'd noticed that Barry had texted her back. Due to Anti, Lucy couldn't exactly use a computer to look things up. She'd asked Barry if he could talk to her tonight. The particle accelerator had gone online, and he had said that he'd call her when he left to drop off some things to drop off some things at the police station. Lucy quickly texted that she'd meet him there.

The sound of rain made her decide on a coat before she headed out the door. After a quick cab ride, Lucy entered the building. The coat had shielded her somewhat, but she was still shivering with cold. As she rounded the corner, she nearly collided with someone.

"Oh, excuse me," Lucy said and looked up to see Eddie looking back at her.

"No problem. I was hurrying too. We should probably start looking where we're going," he said with a bashful smile.

"Uh, yeah. That'd be… smart. I'm here to see someone. Barry Allen."

"Oh, he'd be up there," Eddie said and pointed to the staircase.

Lucy thanked him and walked to the staircase. Eddie said something before a loud crash echoed from upstairs, and Lucy bolted up them. The glass in the lab had shattered. Lucy began to panic as she found Barry on a shelf with broken glass surrounding him. Checking his pulse, she found none.

"Oh my God," Eddie said from behind her.

"Eddie, call the ambulance! NOW!" Lucy yelled and picked up Barry using all her strength. She made it to the doorway before she had to put him down. At least he wasn't on the shelf or on the glass, Lucy thought as she desperately began doing chest compressions. There was a small gasp from Barry lips. Tears escaped from Lucy's eyes, and she smoothed Barry's hair down as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"It's going to be okay, Barry," Lucy whispered as much for Barry's sake as her own. "You need to hang on." Her voice broke as people came in with a stretcher.

The EMTs carried him out on the stretcher, and Lucy took a moment to catch her breath. Should she follow them? No, Iris would be there, and that might lead to questions. Besides Lucy had watched her brother in the hospital slowly die in the hospital before, and there was no way that she could do that again.

"Um, hey," Eddie said, and Lucy looked up at him from the floor. "They're taking him to the hospital. I already called Barry's family. Do you need a ride?"

"I need… a few moments. To myself. Thank you though," Lucy replied.

Eddie looked like he wanted to ask more questions but stopped himself. As he walked out and closed the door behind him, Lucy got up off the floor and looked around. Most of the shelves had been pushed over. The only things left standing were the computer and some kind of bulletin board. Lucy walked over to the board and saw that Barry had been researching the same articles. A sense of pride welled up in her. After all those years of no one believing him, he still hadn't given up on getting answers.

An odd static filled the air. Lucy's heart almost stopped when she turned to see Dark hovering over the glass with an amused smile. Even though he was standing there, Lucy could see right through him as though he was an illusion.

"What? How?" Lucy whispered with fear and took a step back.

"Isn't it simple?" Dark asked and took a step closer. "You're closer to letting me into this world. All I need is for you to say it, and then you can let me take control. I can save him. That boy."

"I don't believe that!" Lucy whispered back furiously. "Not for one second. Where's my guarantee? And just how were you planning on protecting me anyway? You can't do anything."

A vein in Dark's neck twitched as he regarded her with a mixture of frustration and interest, and he replied calmly, "I gave you my word before. As long as you are in my world, I will allow no harm to come to you. YOU NEED ME!" His voice now had an odd resonance as though multiple people were speaking at once. Dark had yelled the final part with a rage that Lucy hadn't expected. "I won't hurt you."

"I remember your promise! And then you immediately tried to attack me with that loon when I stopped playing your game."

"That's a new one!" Anti yelled from the computer with cheer. "Loon! That's pretty great. Oh… but I can make Dark go away for now… if you really want me to."

"Mind your own business, Anti," Dark said coolly, but he seemed to glitch for a second with a scream.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked Anti. "You want something."

"Only for you to let me stay in your laptop this time. I can help you. A murder mystery sounds like fun! You can always break it again, but then you'll have to deal with this tool."

"Anti… you know what you're doing… and I'd suggest you stop now. DON'T INTERFERE! Before you get yourself in too deep," Dark said with an odd glitch as the white noise started to invade Lucy's head.

"Alright, Anti. Work your magic," Lucy said.

Dark glared at them before the illusion shattered. Anti cackled from the computer and smiled madly at Lucy.

"We're gonna be great partners!" Anti said excitedly.

"I doubt that, but as long as you keep Dark out of my hair, it's okay. Now I should go buy another laptop."

"Yup! Yup!"

Lucy sighed and walked down the stairs. Eddie had waited by the front entrance and waved when he saw Lucy. He offered sheepishly, "Do you need a ride? I'm about to leave work anyway."

"No, I need some time to myself," Lucy answered and walked by him. "But thanks."

"Oh, one more thing… I never said my name, but you knew it. How?"

Lucy inwardly groaned but replied, "We went to school together. I had a crush on you, and you never knew it."

"Oh, really?"

"No, I just read your signature on the forms you were carrying."

"Oh," Eddie sounded less enthusiastic and not completely convinced. "I guess I'll see you around then. Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Lucy walked out into the rain and dashed up to a waiting cab. Luckily, he had just finished his break and didn't have a customer yet. Lucy thanked him and gave him the address of an electronics store close to her place. It was within walking distance. She'd just have to make sure the laptop was bundled up before she left the store.

A man shoved her to the side as she entered the store and gave her an angry look. The employees yelled at him. There was no reaction from the man as he stormed out. He looked to be about the same age as Barry. Probably some spoiled kid. The employees quickly helped her find a laptop and bundle it up before she left. The man had long disappeared. With any luck Lucy would run into him again sometime. It'd be good to have a stooge for her ever-rising stress, and Lucy needed a release.

Once she set up the laptop in her suite, Anti looked around appraisingly.

"So, you're not curious why I helped you?" Anti said in his weird glitching tone.

"I know why. You and Dark have some kind of feud going on. So sad to see. You guys were such great pals when you were chasing me down."

"That rat tried to kill me after! Said that it was my fault that you got away!"

"Oh, how surprising," Lucy replied in a monotone. "Why am I so interesting to you guys anyway? Is it because I landed in your world?"

"Yeah, but that's not the only reason. In our world, you've got a weird… glow. Like you're not human either."

"Is that why you wanted to slit my throat? To see if I would bleed differently?"

"Hey, now," Anti said as though hurt. "I didn't mean to scare you… well, yeah, I did. But I mostly just wanted to see what you'd do. Nice kick by the way."

"I try," Lucy replied and cleared some of the papers away. "You said that you could help me. How?"

"Well, I could sort through the online articles, and you can do all of the actual legwork. Unless… you want to invite me to this world. I've been good, haven't I?"

"For the whole past hour but no," Lucy said sternly as he gave her puppy eyes. "And what do you mean 'invite' you? Why does it have to be me?"

"Only certain people have the ability, and you're weird because you've been to quite a few worlds," Anti explained. His voice wasn't as distorted as before. Maybe that was because she had given him access to the laptop.

Lucy nodded and brought over some of the articles.

"Okay then. Let's get to work."


	18. STAR Labs

The hospital seemed to be in much better shape as Lucy walked through the doors. Last time she'd been here there was a power outage, but now everything seemed to be running smoothly. Lucy approached the front desk woman with a smile and asked if Barry Allen was in the same room. The woman looked confused.

"It says here that he was transferred to a different facility," the woman said with a tilt of her head. "STAR Labs apparently."

Lucy stared back at the woman in confusion until a voice called out her name. Eddie was by the hospital entrance. She walked over to him and raised her eyebrow.

"Uh… Joe wanted me to leave a note for you. Iris told him that you'd been by to see Barry, but she didn't have your number. I'm on my way over there now to pick up Joe. You want a ride?" Eddie asked with a genuine smile.

Lucy didn't really want to ride with him, but it was marginally better than getting a cab. She smiled and replied, "Thank you. I'd appreciate it."

Eddie didn't seem to notice her initial reluctance and happily led her to his car. As Lucy got inside the car, Eddie started it and quickly turned down the volume.

"Sorry, I don't usually get to listen to my music in the car," Eddie explained.

"No problem. Listen to what you want. I don't mind," Lucy replied cheerfully. She would actually prefer music. The awkward silence would be much worse than any kind of music.

"I actually would like to ask you some questions."

Lucy inwardly groaned but kept her face blank as she asked, "Like what?"

"Well, I heard that you're new here. So, what do you do?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes and stared at Eddie, and he looked worried and sheepish. "Are you asking me questions for yourself or someone else?"

"Uh… um… my partner Joe is Barry's… he just wants to know what you're like. Barry is one of his kids. He never heard of you before the accident, and you were there when it happened."

"I met Iris before."

"Yeah, she told him, but… he's having a hard time right now. His partner died, and now he has… me as a partner. I think that he just wants some answers."

"Then he can talk to me himself. I don't mind. There's nothing that I need to hide."

"Those papers didn't have my signature on them."

"So?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Why are you making a big deal about it?"

"Why aren't you just answering the question?"

Lucy sighed and thought quickly. She finally answered, "Okay, but it's not my fault if you don't believe me. Sometimes… I just know things. It's not a psychic ability or anything… more like a gut feeling. Sometimes in a moment of panic I get more."

"I don't quite believe that," Eddie said uncertainly. "If so… why didn't you realize Barry was in trouble then?"

"Why do you think I was there?" Lucy snapped back. She didn't like lying to Eddie, but the truth could get her put into a mental hospital or worse.

Eddie looked thoughtful as they pulled up to the STAR Labs building. Lucy quickly hopped out of the car and walked up to the building with Eddie close behind. Eddie soon took the lead and led her through the building to Barry. Joe sat in a chair by his bed. It took Lucy a second to realize that he was sleeping; bags under his eyes told the story of sleepless nights. Lucy assumed that she probably looked about as bad if not worse. Mirrors weren't an option for her.

Joe jolted awake as they got closer. He stood up and stretched before acknowledging his partner, and he gave Lucy a nod.

"How's he doing?" Lucy asked with a small tremble in her voice. Watching him flat-line at the hospital had been like a flashback of her brother after the accident, and to say that she was unnerved would be an understatement.

Joe gave her a small smile and said, "He hasn't flat-lined again. He's… been doing pretty good actually. He still won't wake up, but… I guess it's as good as it can be at the moment."

Lucy took a notepad out of her pocket and wrote down her number. She explained, "If you have any questions to ask me, it's okay if you call that number. I don't really have a work number. I work for Mercury Labs, but it's more of a freelance thing. That's really the only reliable way to reach me. In case you want someone here. With him."

Joe looked accusingly at Eddie's guilty face before he responded, "So, he told you, huh?"

"Yeah, but I have a way of weaseling out information. He really didn't stand a chance. I know that I seem pretty suspicious, but I have reasons why I live the way that I do. You probably didn't find anything through a background check."

"No, Lucy Smits is a ghost," Joe admitted.

"Exactly. I don't like my past, and I'm working hard to create a better future for myself. If for a second I thought that I was putting Barry in some kind of danger, I would leave and take my trouble with me. He's a good kid."

"A good kid? How old are you?"

"That's beside the point. I mean, he's a good person. He… reminds me of my little brother. He died a couple of years ago. That's kind of the reason that I wanted to start all over."

"What about your parents? Aren't they worried?"

"They're gone too," Lucy said somberly. "It's just me. I didn't want to be known as the girl who has no one. Here… nobody knows anything about me, and that's how I like it."

Joe nodded and apologized, "I'm sorry… Things are just kind of… off for me right now. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's no problem, sir. Just get some sleep tonight. You can't burn the candle at both ends."

Joe nodded and followed Eddie out of the room. Lucy looked at Barry. He looked so peaceful, sleeping there, that Lucy couldn't help but smile wistfully.

"Oh, we haven't met. Not formally," a man in a wheelchair came into the room, and Lucy put on a neutral face. "I'm Dr. Wells. And you are?"

"Lucy," she said stiffly.

Dr. Wells sighed and said, "I can see how you'd be uncomfortable with me. I'm part of the reason why Barry's in that bed. If I had waited to start the accelerator… well, that's pointless now. Just know that I plan on doing everything that I can to help your friend."

Lucy looked at him briefly, and he did appear to be burdened by what his project had done. She admitted, "Dr. McGee doesn't have a very high opinion of you."

"Yes, you must work for Mercury Labs."

"When I feel like it," Lucy said with a shrug. "I'm good enough to not have to work full time hours to make full time money."

"That is impressive," Dr. Wells said nonchalantly. "And no, Dr. McGee does not like me. What do you think that says about me?"

"She's a good person, so I don't think it's for something petty… But what do I know? Other than that… I don't really care just so long as you take good care of Barry."

"We have the best equipment here, and Dr. Snow is very capable."

"Your security is pretty lousy, and by that I mean pretty much nonexistent."

"We don't have much to steal anymore, and we do have cameras."

"Great, so you'll have footage of when someone breaks in, but absolutely nothing to stop it. Although… it won't be a problem until I leave."

"Are you a bodyguard now?" Dr. Wells replied incredulously.

"No, but I can watch over myself and Barry if needed. Even from internal threats."

"Are you saying that you think that I might be a threat?"

"No. If I thought that, then you wouldn't be here right now."

"Now you're threatening an old man in a wheelchair?"

"If you don't hurt Barry, then you have nothing to worry about. But… I'm not like Joe or Dr. McGee or Barry, Dr. Wells. I'm not a nice person. If I thought for a moment that you would try to hurt him, I would have no problem beating you _with_ the wheelchair. No offense," Lucy said with a cold expression before she put on a smile. "But that won't be a problem, will it, Dr. Wells? Because you're going to help him."

Dr. Wells was still staring at Lucy in shock before he seemed to gather his thoughts. A vein in his neck twitched before he answered, "Of course. That attitude won't make you very many friends here."

"I don't need friends," Lucy replied honestly and sat beside Barry. "Just Barry."

"Because he reminds you of your brother?" Dr. Wells asked, regaining Lucy's attention. "I heard some of your conversation with Joe."

"Yes," Lucy said sadly. "I watched my brother die for hours. He'd flat-line just for them to bring him back again. All that work. All those tears. All those prayers. And nothing mattered. Gone."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"That's sweet of you. Particularly since I just threatened to beat you with your own chair."

Dr. Wells laughed, which surprised Lucy, and said, "It was one that I haven't heard before. The outright malice is a bit refreshing… and I can understand wanting to protect the people you care about."

Dr. Wells' face looked more tender for a moment before he excused himself from the room. Lucy turned her attention back to Barry. Pushing his hair out of his face, she smiled and rested her head on her arm, humming an old lullaby.


	19. Starling City

Months had now passed since Barry had fallen into the coma, and Lucy was no closer to finding out what had happened to their mother. To his mother. Lucy paced around the room while Anti's eyes went wide with curiosity.

"You could always go to Starling City," Anti offered with a grin. "Seems like an interesting place."

"Not relevant. There was no mention of anything involving a guy moving so fast to become a blur," Lucy retorted anxiously.

"No, just some men with superhuman strength. Definitely nothing strange there," Anti replied airily and smiled when Lucy narrowed her eyes at him.

With a sigh, Lucy looked at the reports that Anti had found. There was definitely something odd going on there, but would it lead them to anything that would free her dad? Barry's dad, she corrected herself.

"It couldn't hurt to check it out," Lucy replied tentatively. "It's not like I have a wealth of information here."

Anti did a celebratory shimmy and called out, "Road trip!"

"What makes you think that I'm bringing you?" Lucy asked, and Anti pouted.

"Hey, we're partners. That's the deal. And how am I going to keep Dark away from you from here?"

Lucy clicked her tongue but had to admit that he had a point. She sighed and agreed, "Alright. But it's a long train ride."

"You're taking the train? That's so boring!"

"Well, I'm on a fixed income now, so I need to be careful."

"Maybe you should actually go to work then," Anti retorted with a smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes and replied, "I do. I just happen to have my work done before I get there. A fix here and there and they pay pretty well. I just don't want them to get too technologically advanced. That could lead to trouble."

Anti rolled his eyes and sang a song while Lucy packed up some supplies for the trip. A knock on the door startled her, and she went to open the door, shutting the laptop with a small protest from Anti. No one was there when she opened the door. Stepping outside, she heard a small snap. A rose sat on the doorstep. A note simply read: "I miss you. Very Much."

"Anti!" Lucy called and opened the laptop screen. "What do you think of this?" She turned it toward the door and showed him the rose.

Anti snickered before he seemed to realize something and said, "Oh no. We need to leave now. That's just like Dark. What a creep."

"Wait, what?!" Lucy asked and shut the door, locking the deadbolt. "I thought you said that he couldn't just get to this world."

"He must have found someone who can see him through the mirror, but he can't stay in that world. Not without your permission."

"Why mine?"

"I don't really know to be honest. Usually it's not difficult to bring someone into our world or travel between worlds, but once you're in a world we can't force our way through. It's what makes it easy for us to find you. It's the one place that we can't go. And since we can't get into the world, we can't drag you back with us."

"Why me at all? If you guys can go anywhere, why can't you just be anywhere I'm not?"

"That's boring. Normal people don't last very long… You're special. I'm mostly just trying to piss Dark off by hanging around you when he can't. That's fun for me, but… hanging around you isn't boring. I guess. You can occasionally be fun when you aren't so keen on having that giant stick up your—."

"Got it," Lucy interrupted him and checked outside. "So, whoever left the rose is a human?"

"For now, but soon Dark will have a hold on him. Then he'll be more of a puppet than a person. Dark is feeding off him. That's probably why he was so strong before."

"So, I should give up on Starling City for now and just focus on finding this guy."

"Nope. Then he'll go into hiding. Dark will want him to follow you. It's better to let Dark think that we've been fooled. Pack up. Leave for a bit. He'll send his toy to watch you… or you could just let me into that world," Anti pleaded and looked as innocent as possible for a black-eyed demon.

"So you can drag me back to your world and slit my throat? No thanks. I'm good. I like my throat how it is. One solid piece."

Anti pouted and argued, "That was before I knew you. I thought that you were a weak new toy, but now… you're different."

"As glad as I am that you finally see me as I person, no. Still no. This isn't my world, and I won't be responsible for you causing trouble in it," Lucy reasoned as she finished putting everything in the bag.

"You just don't want me to hurt your precious Barry," Anti mocked angrily, and his voice now had an odd echo to it. "Why is he so important? Weren't you trying to get back to your 'Missy'? Are you staying there now? You gave up on her that quickly?"

"NO! No… I just don't see a way to get back to her at the moment. Caan is gone… he was the one who knew what to do, but even now I'm wondering if he ever did. Or if he was just leading us away from trouble until it found us."

Anti went silent as Lucy got out the laptop bag and put the laptop inside of it. She quickly grabbed her backpack and threw it on before grabbing the bag with her free hand. No one was outside. Lucy checked behind her as she made her way to the train station. It was likely that Dark's accomplice would find her anyway, but she didn't want to make it easy. She paid for her ticket and sat in a seat. After a few hours the lull of the train put her in a trance, and as she looked out the window, the reflection showed Dark standing behind her. She glanced behind her, but no one was there. One of his tricks, she guessed.

Now Lucy was on edge. Taking the laptop out of her bag, she nearly jumped out her seat when she opened the laptop. Anti's face was up against the screen, and he whispered, "He was there, wasn't he?"

Lucy nodded and mumbled, "For a second."

Luckily, she seemed to be alone on the train. Due to the nature of Anti's powers, it would look like she was talking to a blank screen on a laptop. She put it on the seat beside her and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, you know," Anti said, startling Lucy. "I can see how much you care about him, and… it made me angry. You need to be careful with him. Dark already knows that he's important to you. Just don't let him see how much."

"Why?" Lucy whispered.

"We're jealous creatures, Lucy. We're made from the worst parts of you humans. The anger, jealousy, hatred. Dark is the worst. There's nothing light in him whatsoever. I at least have my wonderful sense of humor… That's why he wants you so bad. He got so angry after you left. He said that he felt an 'echo' of something. Something besides the hurt and the pain and the anger. Your love for Missy… he seemed to get a taste of that feeling, and now he wants more. You think that we infect the world around us, and that's true enough. But you infected our world. Us."

"How so? Because I love Missy? That doesn't make any sense."

"The world you found us in," Anti explained. "It's one of our own creation. Tailored to us. Our needs. Our personalities. Others don't usually influence it… because they're usually running or screaming in fear. Not you… You challenged us…. Fought us on equal ground and therefore our world treated you as an equal. You changed us, whether you meant to or not."

"So how do I get rid of him? Do I just keep running and hope for the best?" Lucy asked quieter this time as people walked through the car.

"Once you're in your own world… I don't think that we'll be able to follow. Certainly not to the degree we are now," Anti said wistfully. "You are an equal to us in our world, but… in your own, we don't stand a chance."

Lucy nodded and looked out the window thoughtfully.

"Is that why you can block him? Because I allowed you?"

"Yes, together we're stronger than him. I meant what I said before. If you allow me into the world, his hold will falter, but… you don't trust me. Probably shouldn't. Things have been much calmer for me lately. I feel… more… together. That may be destroyed once I get into that world. Perhaps this is better for now."

Lucy nodded. He sounded too disappointed to be trying to trick her, but she wouldn't let her guard down just yet. He may be preferable to Dark, but he was no angel. Starling City glittered in the distance as they approached.


	20. Felicity

The city lights had grown more annoying than beautiful over the past couple days as Lucy had gotten more and more frustrated. They hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. Not even Dark's puppet. Barry had investigated a break in at some company and gone home. There wasn't much for Lucy to go off of, and with this much effort for nothing Lucy felt like a failure.

"Sooooo… remember how you told me not to go through Barry's phone?" Anti asked sheepishly.

"Yes," Lucy growled then sighed. "Did you at least find something? Anything?"

Anti smirked and replied, "A phone number. Someone named 'Felicity.' Her number was suddenly added when your boy came here."

"Hmm… that is pretty interesting, but can you get a work address or something?"

"Felicity Smoak. Queen Consolidated. I did my homework."

"That's the company that had the break-in," Lucy murmured thoughtfully. "Great job, Anti... and yeah, I know this would have been useful sooner."

Anti laughed and said gleefully, "I didn't say anything! But yeah. You should listen to me more."

"Maybe," Lucy agreed with a noncommittal shrug. "Now hang tight. I should check out this Felicity and ask her some questions."

"Wait! You're not bringing me?!" Anti yelled indignantly. "I did the work!"

"Yes, you did, and I'm extremely grateful. But… even if I did bring the laptop, I couldn't just walk around with it open. You wouldn't even see anything."

Anti pouted with his eyes flashing black with rage. He finally spoke up, "What about your watch?"

"What about it?" Lucy asked suspiciously as she instinctively raised her hand to block it from view.

"I can tag along inside it! Lucy, please! I've been good!" Anti pleaded. "You wouldn't even know about the girl if it wasn't for me!" His voice became more glitchy as he got angrier.

"That's true, but I assume one I give you permission… that you'll be able to use the watch anytime."

"Were you planning on ditching me?"

"A bit. If you go off the deep end, how am I supposed to deal with you?"

"I'm the only one who can protect you from him!" Anti argued as he glitched more frequently. "He's the one you should fear! He's been trying to stop you. Manipulate you! I've helped! That sound you hear isn't just white noise. It's him trying to get inside your head! Control you. That's what he does to people. I… I can't say that I'm a 'better person', but I've never tried to control you!"

Lucy nodded hesitantly and thought about it. Anti had threatened to slit her throat before, but he'd been helpful since she let him stay. She still didn't trust him though. He seemed too different from when they were in that world. Even his speech had become more human, less… legion.

"I kind of need you to stay here. Don't you remember our agreement? I do legwork; you do research."

Anti grumbled ominously but seemed to agree.

"But… if anyone tries to hack into that computer, you have my full permission to give them hell."

Anti cheered up and laughed ferociously.

Lucy took that as a sign of compliance and left the room. She'd check out the Queen building and explore nearby stores. It was lunchtime, so it was likely that this Felicity was grabbing something to eat.

Lucy smiled and called a taxi. Sooner or later she'd have to figure out what to do about Anti. He had been useful, but what was he getting out of their partnership? Lucy got into the taxi with a sigh.

"Boy troubles?" the driver asked her with a friendly smile.

Lucy laughed and replied, "Something like that."

The driver nodded and seemed to notice her reluctance to talk. He allowed Lucy to drift into her thoughts without further prodding, and at first Lucy was grateful. However, she was frustrated by her inability to understand Anti's motivations and peeked at the driver. Perhaps she could use him as a soundboard through the drive.

"Question?" the driver asked, looking at her through the mirror.

"Yes… I seem to be getting too much help from someone. He has no real reason to help me other than out of spite to someone else… and I'm not sure what his real motives are."

"Hmm… it's a sad truth that people go to extreme lengths out of spite, but maybe he just likes helping you… or likes you."

Lucy laughed at the last one and explained, "I don't think it's that. If anything, it's probably out of boredom or spite."

The driver nodded, and Lucy relaxed a little. The Queen Consolidated building was rather large with a lot of windows, so Lucy asked the driver to park a bit away from the building. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

As Lucy paid for the ride, he spoke out, "It's good to be wary. People aren't always looking out for your best interests, but it is okay to trust people every now and then. Particularly when they've earned it."

Lucy smiled at him in return and closed the door. Right now she needed to focus on getting some answers out of Felicity; her thoughts on Anti could wait. She started to walk around the office buildings and get a feel for the layout. Restaurants weren't exactly scarce, but only a few seemed to be geared toward take-out. A Thai place spoke out to her in particular. Lucy could stop by after she got a good look around and decided how she wanted to handle this Felicity business.

Lucy could just go inside and try to speak to Felicity simply, but if Barry was asking about sensitive information, then that could just make her act more defensive or even lie. Lucy sighed and looked around the square again. Getting Felicity to talk would probably be easier if she was outside the office, but Lucy didn't even know what she looked like.

"Excuse me? Are you looking for something?" a man in a suit asked as he got out of the back seat of a car.

"Um, yeah," Lucy said awkwardly. Being caught in her planning stage had thrown her off-center. "Well, someone, not something… but it's okay… I can come back later. I just have… questions. Nothing too important. Although kinda important. Okay, now I'm rambling and embarrassed. I just need… bye." Lucy turned to leave but heard a cough that seemed to cover a laugh.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for someone by the name of Felicity, would you?" the man asked.

Lucy turned back and looked at him suspiciously before asking, "How did you know?"

"Call it a gift," he replied with a small smile. "She's right behind those doors. I can take you to her office if you'd like."

"Oh, uh, not today actually… This place looks kind of… secure. I don't think that they'll just let anyone inside."

The man smiled wider and said, "Well, it's a good thing that I'm not just anyone. Oliver Queen. And you are?"

Lucy took a second to process what he'd said before she answered, "Uh, my name's Lucy… Smits."

Oliver held the door, and Lucy quickly walked through it. He confidently walked down the hall. Lucy struggled to keep up with his stride and take a look around the place. As they reached a doorway, he stopped and once again held the door for her. Inside the office was a blonde woman with a curious look on her face.

"Felicity, you have a guest," Oliver said and seemed to notice the confusion on Felicity's face.

"Uh, hello, Felicity," Lucy spoke quickly before Oliver could get her thrown out. "My friend Barry Allen was here a few months ago… I'm working on his father's case. He was planning on telling me about his trip the night he… uh, yeah. So… I was hoping that you could fill me in on what he was investigating here. I understand if you want me to… meet you at a different time, but was there anything that could help?"

Felicity started to stammer and pointedly looked at Oliver before turning her attention back to Lucy. Oliver soon spoke up, and Lucy turned to look at him with suspicion.

"I don't believe so. He was just here about a robbery. Nothing special."

"You mean besides the fact that someone used their super strength to break in here and steal something. No, I don't see why it would be special," Lucy snapped back with sarcasm. Clearly, there was some kind of cover-up going on here. "Felicity, here's my number. Call me if you think of anything."

Lucy handed Felicity a card with her number written on it. She turned to Oliver before she left and said, "I was there… after the lightning struck." Her voice died for a second, but she continued, "He has a board of clues… that he's collected through the years. I just felt like someone needed to continue his work. That it shouldn't be ignored."

"So, you believe a man in a blur killed his mother?" Oliver asked.

"I believe… there are things in this world that can neither be seen or described in a normal context. But most importantly… I believe in Barry. So please call me when you decide whether or not you care enough to help."

Lucy walked past Oliver and out the building's front doors. With a quick intake of breath, she caught the attention of a cabbie and got inside. She knew that she'd used a low blow by the look of hurt on Felicity's face, but as long as she got Henry Allen freed, she'd deal with the consequences.


	21. Arrow

Lucy pulled her coat tighter around herself as she sat on a cargo hold. A pair of binoculars sat to her right. The show should start any time now, and Lucy was starting to get antsy. A thud echoed from across the wharf. Lucy fumbled for her binoculars and raised them to her eyes. The vigilante zipped from criminal to criminal as Lucy quickly hopped down and circled around him.

Soon the criminals that hadn't already taken an arrow were surrendering as police sirens could be heard coming toward the crime scene. Lucy followed behind the vigilante as he ran from the police. Keeping her sights on him, she ducked behind a wall to keep him from seeing her and followed a little more slowly, but as she turned around the corner, she found herself face-to-face with him.

"How did you do that?" Lucy asked, hoping for an answer but assuming that she wouldn't get one.

"You need to stay away. This is dangerous. And reckless," the vigilante growled.

"Says you. Mr. Queen," she whispered, and he stared at her menacingly. "Quit being dramatic. I know who you are and what you do, and I don't care. Not even a little. I just did this to prove a point."

"And what point would that be?"

"That you're not as careful as you think you are."

He fired an arrow at her, but she managed to narrowly dodge it.

"There's a lot wrong with you, isn't there?!" Lucy asked and took off one of her gloves. "Here. Watch." Lucy touched a metal bin with her left hand, and the bin glowed before, piece by piece, it faded into the air.

"How did you do that?" Oliver asked her.

"I touched it," Lucy answered smugly and put her glove back on her hand. "I wanted to prove to you that there are things that can't be explained so easily. A man in a blur doesn't sound particularly far-fetched now, does it?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her and said, "And you decided that now is the best time to question me?"

"Oh, it's far from the best time, but I couldn't think of any other way to really get your full attention. Plus I know that you wouldn't risk recording your nightly activities just to 'catch' me. People finding out about my ability rarely goes well."

"So, you decided to show me at night… in an area with no witnesses."

Lucy smirked and replied, "Well, we've got Felicity with us, right? Some kind of earpiece, I'm sure."

Oliver winced and asked, "Felicity? Are you alright?" He looked at Lucy threateningly, but she merely shrugged in return. Whatever was happening wasn't a part of her plan.

"All of the electronics crashed? How? Glitching screens?" Oliver whispered and gave Lucy a suspicious look.

"She was trying to find some dirt on me, wasn't she? That was a terrible idea… I may be able to help though. Unless you want to buy new equipment... That's the only way to deal with this particular pain. I know from experience."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing… but I have a computer person too. He's just not as nice as yours."

"So, how do we fix everything?"

"Well, either you can take me there or throw out your computer. I can talk some sense into him, but I'll need to be at the source of the trouble."

Oliver looked at Lucy for a few moments before gesturing for her to follow him. A motorcycle was parked in a shadowy area. He got on and motioned for her to get on the seat, and Lucy froze.

"Uh, I think… maybe you should just give me the address."

"I thought that you were brave?"

"Brave, yes. Suicidal, no. Do you know the statistics about motorcycle accidents?"

"Hurry up. It's the quickest way."

Lucy took a deep breath and got on behind him. When the motorcycle took off, she held onto Oliver so hard that she heard his back crack. Flying down the streets, they eventually came to an old building, and Lucy followed Oliver inside. After putting a code into the system, a door leading to a staircase opened, revealing a terrified Felicity. Anti was laughing as he set off different monitors.

"I don't know what the hell this is?!" Felicity explained to Oliver as Lucy calmly walked into the room. "I've never seen any computer program or hacker do this kind of damage."

Lucy walked up to the console and said, "Enough, Anti. I think that you've scared them enough."

"Aw! But Lucy! I'm having so much fun! It's not my fault they're too weak to handle it!"

"I said enough. I'm sure that we can find you a suitable target later. Right now you're scaring her, so stop."

Anti growled but stopped messing with the screens, and Lucy turned to see Oliver and Felicity staring at her with trepidation and distrust.

"I only heard one side of that conversation… do you hear voices?" Felicity asked and took a step back.

"Just his… and one other actually. But as you can see, he stopped."

"So… uh, what is 'he'?"

"No idea. What are you, Anti?"

"Handsome, funny, smart, strong," Anti replied cheekily.

"An idiot," Lucy said in a monotone, and Anti made a screen spark at her, startling Felicity. "The best idea I have is a demon of some kind."

"A demon?" Felicity asked in a small voice. "Oh, that's not good… I mean… I don't mean to be… species-ist? But… demons are usually bad, right?"

"How are you so calm now?" Oliver asked Lucy with a judging tone. "You were acting flustered when I met you earlier? Was that just a front?"

"I wish," Lucy muttered irritably. "You just caught me off guard. That's all."

Anti's gigging caught Lucy's attention as she realized that she sounded like a petulant child. Heat rose in her cheeks. Lucy clicked her tongue and looked away; she didn't like improvising.

"So, why are you so interested in Barry?" Oliver asked and watched Lucy.

"I told you… I'm Barry's friend. I'm working on solving his father's case."

"What case? I'm sorry to tell you this, but from what I've heard it seems to be an open and shut case. Even if Mr. Allen is innocent, there won't be much that you can do about it. You're only putting yourself in danger. How would Barry feel if you got hurt?"

Lucy took off her glove and grabbed one of the arrows. Holding it up, she noticed the look of awe and fear on their faces as they watched it disappear. Oliver seemed to be trying to figure out how she did it and watched it disappear carefully.

"I won't… get hurt that is. And if I did… it doesn't seem to last long," Lucy stated nonchalantly, putting her glove back on. "All I want is to help Henry Allen before I go. Once he's out of prison or Barry's awake, I'll just leave. You won't see or hear from me again, and your secret will be 'safe.' Not that your secret is of any value to me right now… or ever."

"Leave? I thought that you wanted to help Barry."

Lucy sighed and explained, "I'm working with a demon because there's a worse one after me. For Barry's sake, I'll leave when I get the chance… I don't want him getting hurt. But I don't want to leave while he's still vulnerable, and if I can help out with his dad…" Lucy shrugged.

Felicity interrupted Oliver, "So there's a worse demon?!"

"Yeah, Anti's the lesser of the two evils at the moment. Anyway, sorry to cause this much trouble, but I need to go. I thought that there would be more to it, since Dr. Snow and Cisco Ramon were here not too long ago. But it seems that they were here for something else. If you really don't have any information, then this was a waste of time."

"Well, we can agree on that," Oliver retorted gruffly.

"If you had answered my questions honestly, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. You need to learn how to lie or not lie at all," Lucy replied with a fake smile at Oliver. "And I'm sorry, Felicity. I know what I said earlier… bothered you."

"It's all good as long as you don't sic your demon on my computer again," Felicity said quickly.

"I won't," Lucy assured her with a meaningful glance at Anti, who rolled his eyes. Putting on her gloves, she started to leave when a hand touched her shoulder.

Oliver looked at her with confusion and warned, "You're treading in dangerous waters. How do you even know that Barry's father is innocent?"

Lucy quickly moved her shoulder out of his reach and glared at him coldly.

He continued, "Barry, at least, has a reason to believe his father. He was there. But… are you just running around endangering yourself on his belief alone? You have to admit… it doesn't have a whole lot of evidence."

"Neither does your missing arrow, but that doesn't mean that it's still on the table, does it?" Lucy snapped back irritably. "I've met him… Barry's father. I went to the jail… I wanted to tell him about Barry's condition… that it was getting better. I've seen murderers, Mr. Queen, and I can tell you with complete certainty that he's not one of them. He doesn't deserve to be in there."

Lucy's voice broke a little, and Oliver and Felicity looked at her with surprise and concern. Before they could say anything else, Lucy walked out of the room and up the stairs. She didn't like those looks. As she made her way back to her hotel, she tried to piece together a new plan.


	22. Atonement

D'Artagnan had set up cameras around the hotel where they were staying, and the cameras had caught some suspicious activity. Someone had been watching when she left. No one had broken in yet or left anything, but someone definitely knew that she was here. Lucy let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair. D'Artagnan had curled up on the bed and looked up at her lazily while she turned away from the laptop.

"What are you planning on doing about him?" Anti asked haughtily, causing Lucy to jump a little. He was still angry over her refusal to bring him with her.

"To be honest, I don't really have a plan," Lucy admitted tiredly and relaxed into the chair. "This… isn't my usual way of doing things. I don't really know what to do anymore. It was so easy with Caan. He always knew what to do, where to go… Now… I'm just stuck. I can't even figure out who this damn bastard is!"

"The one keeping tabs on you or the murderer?"

"Either one would be nice," Lucy replied and brushed back her hair. "I'm not picky at this point. Someone to take this frustration out on would be nice."

"Ooooh! That would be fun!" Anti spoke up more cheerfully than before. "Oh, you have a guest."

Lucy looked toward the screen and saw Oliver walking toward her door. The chair flew across the room as she leapt up and ran to the door. Before he had the chance to knock, Lucy opened the door and pulled him inside by his hoodie.

"What are you doing?!"

"You saw my base of operations, so I wanted to see yours," Oliver replied quietly and looked around the room cautiously. He saw the laptop and asked, "Is… he there?"

"Yeah, always. Why?"

"Just… asking," Oliver replied, looking at the laptop warily. "I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. You clearly care about Barry, and…"

"And Felicity sent you to make amends?"

Oliver laughed a little and asked, "Was I being that obvious?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Lucy responded wearily and looked away. "You don't have to worry about me being angry or offended. There's only one thing that matters to me right now."

"Helping Barry? I think that he'd be happy with just the thought that you believe him."

"Yeah… he's an idiot."

Oliver smiled a little in surprise and said, "You remind me of him a little."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Oliver in surprise, and he continued, "Just a little though."

Lucy smirked and asked, "So… did you come here to apologize and tell me to stay out of trouble?"

"Chasing vigilantes in the dark isn't one of the safest things to do."

"Not to worry… I won't need to do that anymore. I'm leaving Starling soon. There's just one thing that I need to take care of first."

"That sounds ominous. Are you talking about the 'demon' that's after you?"

"Yeah, kind of," Lucy said with a shrug. She really didn't want to bring him into this fiasco. "I can handle it. It's not like I'm on my own." Lucy threw a glance at the laptop followed by a longer look at where D'Artagnan stretched out on the bed. He clearly didn't think of Oliver as a threat.

"Oh, you have a cat?" Oliver asked as D'Artagnan jumped off the bed to rub himself on Oliver's legs.

"Yeah, his name's D'Artagnan," Lucy answered evenly. She did have a cat… at the moment.

D'Artagnan jumped on one of the counters to force Oliver to pet him, and Lucy hid a small smile. Oliver looked uncomfortable for a second but pet D'Artagnan gently. Lucy watched Oliver hide a smile of his own and contemplated telling him more. D'Artagnan was generally a good judge of character. But… it probably wasn't safe to get Oliver involved anymore than he already was. Lucy could take care of this mystery puppet of Dark's.

A sudden movement on the laptop caught Lucy's attention as she saw a man walk hesitantly through the hallway and glance at her door warily. She recognized him. They had bumped into each other in Central City. Lucy hadn't given him a second thought since the electronics store. Now she realized that he may be more than just some spoiled brat.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked and eyed Lucy suspiciously.

"I'll handle it," Lucy said offhandedly and turned back to Oliver. "I can always escape by leaving. You can't. It'd be better if you don' t get more involved. I'm only staying until I find Nora Allen's killer or Barry wakes up."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at Lucy in confusion and replied, "I could leave Starling too. At least for a little while. How exactly are you planning on avoiding whatever's following you?"

"I have a few tricks that will work for me… not you. Plus once I leave Starling, I doubt that I'll be coming back. I just have a problem to attend to here before I go… then I guess I'll try to find more in Central City. When Barry wakes up… I'll leave and lure the trouble away."

"Where would you hide from a demon?" Oliver asked with a glance at the laptop.

"I have a friend… of sorts. He'll probably let me stay with him for a little while although… I do need to find something for Maze," Lucy realized with some horror. She had completely forgotten to find something "interesting" for Maze and briefly wondered what that would be for a demon.

"Hey! What about me?!" Anti shouted petulantly, but Lucy just gave him a side glance.

"For Maze?" Oliver asked and looked from Lucy to the laptop.

"Yeah, I kind of promised that I'd find a friend something interesting to give her when I returned… I should probably work on that while I'm here," Lucy answered.

"HEY!" Anti called out again.

"What?!" Lucy responded irritably. "I'm not talking to you when other people are around. They can't hear you, and it's weird."

"Fine," Anti replied, and Oliver's eyes widened as he stared at the screen. "He can see and hear me now. What about me? Are you just going to leave me behind?"

"Leave you behind?" Oliver asked warily. "Can't she just take the laptop with her?"

Lucy glared at Anti, whom just shrugged in return. With a sigh, Lucy explained, "In short… I'm not from this world. I was originally trying to get back to my own, stumbled upon Anti and some other creep, and then escaped to this world."

"OTHER CREEP?!" Anti chimed in angrily, and his eyes flashed black.

"Did I stutter?" Lucy asked haughtily. "Don't forget that you were harassing me too."

Anti mumbled while Oliver looked like he was doing his best to absorb what she had just told him.

"So… why are you so determined to help Barry?" Oliver asked with suspicion in his eyes. "It's not like you and him were friends for long."

Lucy tried not to wince at Oliver's words and noticed Anti eyeing her curiously. She explained in as calm a voice as she could manage, "As I said before, Henry Allen is innocent… and I've heard Barry's voice before. In another world, I was trapped, and he called out to me. I was able to escape after that. Plus… I'm sure that the thing that's after me… it knows that I care about Barry. I have to stay here until he can protect himself."

"So it was never really about Henry Allen," Oliver said in a matter-of-fact tone that made Lucy glare at him.

"In part, it is… I want to help him… if I can," Lucy said with uncertainty. She hadn't fully admitted her guilt even to herself. "Maybe I'm just looking for some kind of atonement."

"Atonement? For what?"

"I've killed people… in other worlds, not this one," Lucy assured Oliver quickly as he stared at her with an alarmed look. "The first person was an accident… I didn't know what my hand could do, and I had told him to stay away… He didn't listen. After that, it was a woman who found out about my abilities after I used them to save her. She wanted to 'figure out how I worked.' I… uh, disagreed with her methods. I don't think helping Barry and his dad will completely vindicate me, but it certainly can't hurt." Lucy shrugged and looked at Oliver with desperation.

Oliver seemed to nod in return and looked back to Anti. After Anti gave him an "innocent" look, he turned back to Lucy and said with a grimace, "I understand. I have some things… that I need to make up for as well. Just… don't send your demon after us again."

"As long as you don't give me a reason to," Lucy answered back with a smile.

Anti laughed as Oliver rolled his eyes. Oliver seemed to relax, and his eyes seemed to be more trusting as he looked back at Lucy and said, "If you do end up needing help… let me know. It's better than having to clean up the aftermath of your messes."

"Sure thing," Lucy replied and glanced at the laptop screen. After a few seconds of contemplation, she admitted, "Actually, there might be something that you can help me with… Just so long as you stay in the shadows. The demon that's after me is using someone to follow me. I think the vigilante could help me get some answers."

"You want me to shoot him," Oliver said in an irritated tone.

"Kind of but not quite."


	23. Dr Wells

The man checked around the corner as though nervous before continuing up the stairs. Lucy smiled as she waited near the top of the outside staircase. The cameras had revealed that he liked to go up to the roof at night. He was going to get quite a surprise tonight. Oliver had agreed to wait at the top of a nearby building, and when Lucy gave the signal, he would fire an arrow near but not into the unfortunate man.

"Going somewhere?" Lucy asked and watched the man freeze at the top of the staircase.

The man stopped and stared at Lucy with alarm in his eyes. He started to flee, but Lucy raised her arm. An arrow flew right in front of the man, causing him to stop in terror.

"That's my friend. He won't shoot as long as you don't try to run," Lucy lied confidently. The truth was that Oliver only promised to shoot the man if he attempted to attack Lucy, but he didn't need to know. Details, Lucy thought to herself and emerged from the shadows. "Why have you been following me? Did someone promise you something? He's a liar… just so you know."

The mystery man's terror turned to confusion then indignation, and he retorted, "Me follow you? Please! You've been following me! You want my research, don't you?"

Lucy just stared at him in confusion and asked, "What?"

"You work for Mercury Labs, right? And I saw you go into STAR Labs. Just who do you really work for?" the man asked haughtily. "Dr. McGee or Dr. Wells?"

Lucy noticed a mocking tone when he'd said Dr. Wells' name and said calmly, "I work for myself… and occasionally Dr. McGee. She's a kind lady… if a bit… controlling."

The man scoffed at that but seemed to relax. Lucy took that as a sign to keep going.

"What don't you like about Dr. Wells?"

The man immediately stiffened and glared at her. He eyed her suspiciously as though suspecting a trap, but Lucy just looked back more confused than ever.

"Look… Dr. Wells is looking after one of my friends. I need to know if he's… less than trustworthy."

"No, no," he muttered to himself. "You're… He sent you. To make sure that I wouldn't talk. I won't be fooled."

Lucy bolted in front of him and blocked him from running away. She asked angrily, "What did he do?! Why are you so scared? I don't even know who the hell you are. Please! Just tell me. My friend is depending on him."

The man scowled at her and watched her before he answered, "And what would you do if I told you that he was a terrible person? Tell the police? He'd ruin me! Or maybe he sent you to trick me. To see if I'd talk."

"Well… I threatened to beat him with his own wheelchair… so I'm hardly his best friend."

"Really?" the man asked with a horrified look at Lucy, who just shrugged.

"Yeah, I wasn't in the best of places at the time… but I need to know if he's trustworthy. He's supposed to be taking care of my friend. Please, just tell me what you know. I won't tell him," Lucy pleaded and caught the man off-guard.

"I… I can't tell you much," the man admitted guardedly. "He'd figure out that I was the one to tell you if you slipped, and I don't trust you not to slip. He's much smarter than you are… He's selfish, and he pretends to be caring. But I've seen another side to him. Don't let him fool you. That's all I can say." The man looked somewhat apologetic and asked hesitantly, "Your friend… was your friend injured in the particle accelerator malfunction?"

"Yes," Lucy answered and narrowed her eyes.

"Just be careful," he said, and Lucy allowed him to walk away.

Something in his tone made her second guess the particle accelerator explosion. Had it really been an accident? Did that guy know something about what had happened? Lucy had assumed that it had been an accident caused by the weather and Dr. Well's hubris, but had there been something more to it? Rage flowed through Lucy as she struggled to keep it buried. She had blamed Dr. Wells from the beginning, but she had assumed that he was doing his best to make up for his lack of foresight. Now she wondered if he was trying to atone for the explosion itself.

"You okay?" Oliver asked, and Lucy took a deep breath. "What did he say? Was he your guy?"

As much as Lucy didn't like to admit that she'd been wrong, she knew it was the right thing to do and explained, "No, he was just some guy. Suspicious but not one of his minions."

"What did he say?" Oliver asked, sounding concerned.

"Nothing much. But Dr. Wells… before I leave, he's going to answer some questions."

"Do I need to be worried?"

"Not if he answers them correctly," Lucy assured him.

"What does correctly mean?"

"It means that he didn't cause the explosion, purposefully or not."

"Well, he… kind of did," Oliver admitted, getting Lucy's full attention. "It was a part of his facility. It probably wouldn't have been created if not for his work."

"Not in that way," Lucy snapped and headed back inside with Oliver following behind her.

"So what if he did? What will you do?" Oliver asked as Lucy opened the door to her room.

Lucy let out a cold, hard laugh and whispered harshly, "You have no right to judge me. I've read about what you've done. You've never been afraid to use lethal force before, and this seems highly hypocritical." Lucy turned her back on him and walked into the room, noting the delay in the door closing. He had followed her inside.

"I've made mistakes. I'm trying to be better. And I know you are too. You didn't want to kill those people before, and you regret doing it now. Do you really want to hurt this doctor? Barry wouldn't want you to do that over him."

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT BARRY WANTS?! You only use it when it's convenient! You didn't GIVE A DAMN when I came to you… looking for help… asking for answers. You didn't believe Henry Allen… and you probably still don't. Thank you for your help so far, Mr. Queen, but we're done here." Lucy held her head in her hands and tried to regain her composure. There was an odd ringing in her head, but for once it wasn't causing her pain.

"Lucy," Oliver started and took a step forward. "I want to help Barry too. If Dr. Wells is responsible… then we'll decide then. But… is this all to repay Barry? Or even a version of him. How do you know that it was this Barry that saved you and not a different one?"

"I don't!" Lucy said angrily as tears leaked out. "But… I've watched him die before. I can't… I won't let that happen again. I watched him in a hospital, but he wasn't this lucky… They didn't save him. That's why… if that man had anything to do with this… I'll— I'll deal with him."

Strong arms held her in a hug, and slowly her edginess faded as she relaxed into Oliver's arms. The hug seemed awkward for him as well. As though he hadn't hugged someone in a long time, but his voice was calm and soothing as it chased the ringing out of Lucy's head.

"I'm sorry," he said and held her as she cried in his arms. "Barry's going to be alright. We can help you. I have a good team. You don't need to do this alone… Barry isn't just someone you've met before, is he?"

Lucy pulled herself together and pushed Oliver away before answering, "He was… my brother. In my world. There was an accident, and he died. Every time he crashed… I—I thought it was over, only for the doctors to bring him back. To crash again. They couldn't save him." Lucy's voice sounded hollow, even to her. As though all the pain had slowly faded to resentment and bitterness.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, but he'll be okay. Felicity said that he was improving."

"I know… I visit. Not often as it's kinda weird between Dr. Wells and me… I may have threatened him if anything were to happen to Barry because of his negligence. I was just… so mad. I was so close… when it happened. If I'd been a few minutes earlier…"

"You can't think in 'what ifs.' That's a dangerous train of thought, and it doesn't do anything. Nothing will change except how much guilt you feel. Stay here for now. There's nothing you can do for Barry at the moment but wait. We'll figure out this Dr. Wells business together. And Felicity… well, I think she'll forgive you for the computers."

"You think?"

"Well, they are like her children," Oliver joked stiffly. "You'll just have to work extra hard. And your friend can't mess up our systems. Do you promise?"

Oliver turned to Anti, whom was staring at the both of them with a guarded look.

"I promise to wreck your shit if you try to mess with me," Anti said then continued when his eyes met Lucy's, "But otherwise you're fine. I'm good. We're good."

Lucy noticed that Anti gave her a worried glance. Oliver gave Lucy his number and promised to give him a call after she'd thought about what he had said. After she closed the door behind him, she heard Anti mutter, "We need to talk."


	24. Weakness

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked and dried off her face, now embarrassed. She hadn't realized that Anti was watching. "Did I show too much 'weakness' for you to handle? I'm fine now."

"No, you're not," Anti said calmly, and Lucy turned toward him with a raised eyebrow. "That's not what I was talking about. When you got angry just now… did you… feel anything strange?"

"What? I… uh, maybe. There was a sound in my head almost like…" Lucy stopped with a sudden realization. It had been the sound she'd heard when Dark was around, trying to get into her head.

"You need to be more careful," Anti warned, sounding uncharacteristically sober. "He's trying to latch onto you. Strong emotions, particularly bad ones, will draw him to you, and there's not much I can do to help. He'll drag you back to our world, and you probably won't be as lucky as the first time."

"But… how? Do I just bury them? How do I just not feel anything?" Lucy asked irritably.

"I don't know," Anti admitted and looked away. "You need to be more vigilant. This world… your defenses are too low here. It was incredibly easy for me to find you even as I searched through other worlds. Your love for that… Barry is like a beacon. And your anger and hatred make it easier for Dark to influence you. That's what he was created from… darkness."

"What about you? What were you created from?"

"I don't know that either," Anti admitted with a wistful smile. "Perhaps… I was always meant to be the opposite of someone… or something, but I lost my way. But who cares anyway?! I can do anything I want now!" Anti cackled, but Lucy sensed that he was more upset than he claimed. Perhaps the madness was to obscure how misplaced he felt. Or maybe he was just trying to con her.

"We still haven't found who Dark is using… won't they be a problem if I leave this world? Can't they hurt Barry?"

"Yeah," Anti agreed with a shrug. "I doubt Dark would though… he's trying to get inside your head. I doubt that he would kill him, but…"

"But?"

"He's certainly not above hurting him… or trapping him."

"WHAT?!"

"What would you do if Dark pulled him into our world? Would you leave Barry, or would you follow?"

"I'd…" Lucy started and looked hopelessly at Anti. "I'd follow."

"And once you got there, Dark would already have a trap waiting for you… and if he asked, you'd trade your freedom for Barry's."

"I'd get us both out," Lucy responded with a confidence that she didn't truly feel. She remembered the vastness of that world. Encased in shadow. Could she even find Barry if Dark got ahold of him?

"That's why you need to stay here… for now. Until he wakes up at least. But you do have a choice to make. Protect your Barry, or find your 'Missy,'" Anti said with a slightly mocking tone.

Lucy looked away and thought for a moment. She could protect Barry here, but Missy was likely waiting for her. She said hesitantly, "There has to be a way to stop him from getting here once I leave."

Anti looked uncomfortable and glitched for a moment before saying, "I don't know. You'd have to use something in this world to make that power stable. If not, it'd probably go haywire after you left."

"What would work against him? Some kind of light… magic?" Lucy asked, and Anti shrugged. "What are the chances of finding that in this world?" Lucy sighed but figured that she might as well do some research. The internet likely wouldn't give her the kind of information that she needed. Likely just some New Age sites but it wouldn't hurt to look.

Lucy noticed that Anti had already started pulling things up on the computer, and sure enough most of the websites seemed to be of no real use to Lucy. A buzzing in on the table made her jump a little, and she walked over to check the number. It was an unknown number. She had given Dr. Snow her number before she left Central City, and it wasn't a number that Lucy or her phone recognized.

"Hello?" Lucy answered the phone hesitantly. "Is this Star Labs?"

"Yes," Dr. Wells answered, sending chills up Lucy's spine. "I just thought that you might like an update on Barry's condition. You seemed so keen on helping him before your… excursion."

"Yes, thank you," Lucy said evenly despite the rage welling up. Dr. Wells almost made it sound like Lucy had simply lost interest in Barry's welfare, and she didn't like it. "How's he doing?"

"His condition hasn't changed much, I'm afraid, but we did discover something interesting," Dr. Wells said. "Instead of his muscles atrophying, they've actually become stronger. It's a bit strange, particularly for someone who was struck by lightning, but it seems like he might be doing better than we had previously thought."

"Really?!" Lucy blurted out excitedly before she could control her tone.

Dr. Wells' voice became gentler as he replied, "Yes, it doesn't mean that he'll wake up soon, but when he does wake up, he'll be significantly healthier than most people would be in his condition."

Lucy noticed that she had started pacing the hotel room in excitement and stopped abruptly. It was too soon to get caught up in good news. She calmed herself and replied, "Thank you, Dr. Wells. And… I want to apologize for what I said before… I wasn't in the best of places, but that's no excuse for my behavior. I'm sorry." Those words had been harder for Lucy to say than she'd suspected, but she knew that she'd have to get on Dr. Wells' good side if she was planning on catching him off-guard. He was too intelligent to fall for a simple ruse.

"I'm happy to hear that, but… I understand. Just know that I'm doing everything I can to help Barry."

"Yes, thank you," Lucy said and tried to figure out how she could end the call quickly without being too obvious. She was undoubtedly suspicious of Dr. Wells' motives, but it wouldn't do her any good for him to know it. Far better for him to believe that she had buried the hatchet. "Um… I'm actually doing some research and won't be able to be by the lab for a while. Give Dr. Snow and Mr. Ramon a 'thanks' from me, please. I know that they're also working hard."

"No problem, but… sorry, I'm just curious. Are you doing work for Mercury Labs? Dr. McGee called here a little while ago. She said something about you not taking calls and wondered if we'd seen you."

"No… it's… uh, personal research. I was busy. I'll give her a call. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome. If you need any help, I have no doubt that Cisco would want to assist you. We haven't had a whole lot of business since the explosion. It might be good to give him something to do."

Lucy noticed Anti gesturing for her to walk over to the laptop. On the screen she noticed a figure walking past one of the more hidden cameras on the street nearby. It was Dr. Wells. No wheelchair. He kept to the shadows and wore a hood, but Lucy could tell with complete certainty that it was him. A shiver went up her spine as she gripped the phone tightly.

"Lucy? Are you still there?" Dr. Wells asked as Lucy watched him talk into the phone on the camera.

"Uh… yeah. Just looking through some paperwork. Sorry," Lucy responded and sounded much calmer than she actually felt. "I'll call you back in a couple days. My research shouldn't take too long. Thank you for the offer though."

"Just let us know if you need anything," Dr. Wells answered as he peeked toward Lucy's hotel.

"Okay, thanks. Bye," Lucy replied and watched to see what he would do. She knew that he couldn't see her from the window, much less see the laptop screen. A small smile danced across his lips as he looked at his phone and ended the call. With another glance toward her hotel, he quickly disappeared into the shadows.

"Creepy bastard," Anti whispered, almost in awe.

Lucy rolled her eyes but couldn't shake that unsettling feeling. What was that? He had been injured badly in the particle accelerator malfunction. How could he be walking around? A thought struck Lucy, and she didn't like the sound of it. What if Barry wasn't the only one experiencing strange side effects of the explosion? Or could this be the result of a deal with Dark?

"That's not Dark's work by the way," Anti spoke up, catching Lucy's attention.

"Why not? He kept promising me 'anything' I 'desire.' Why couldn't he heal the doctor's legs and spine?"

"He could, but he wouldn't. Not until he got what he wants: you. The doctor would still be in a wheelchair."

"So… Dr. Wells' sudden appearance is… What? A coincidence?"

"He could still be working for Dark. I'm just pointing out that Dark isn't that generous."

Lucy nodded and sighed as she got onto the computer and looked through the websites Anti had found. One of them seemed to be more promising than the others although still incredibly weird. Something about Light of the Soul. It sounded like something that could possibly work. Keeping Dark away from Barry was still her number one priority. She would deal with Dr. Wells later.


	25. Esrin Fortuna

Lucy stared at the laptop as Anti looked back at her warily. Her arms were crossed in front of her, and she stared down Anti with suspicion.

"I… I have no idea what you mean by that," Anti said with an innocence that didn't suit his face.

"You know exactly what I mean! You're hiding something from me! I found something on 'Light of the Soul,' and now it's mysteriously gone. What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Anti snapped a bit too angrily. "Why do you always blame me?!"

"Stop trying to redirect the blame," Lucy replied, trying to keep calm. "I don't 'always blame' you, and you know it. Just tell me what you found. Please."

Anti looked away and faded from view. Lucy's eyes widened, and whatever sense of calm she had disappeared.

"Anti!" Lucy whispered angrily. "Get back here! I know you found something. Why won't you tell me?"

Anti reappeared and seemed to observe Lucy's face for a few moments before he answered, "Don't you think it's weird that you just happened to find a power that can stop Dark? And what's next? You'd use it on me."

"Anti… why would I do that?" Lucy asked in a quiet voice. "Unless you're planning on giving me a reason to use it."

"No… but you don't trust me. Even though I've been nothing but helpful. Even though I've done EVERYTHING you've asked me to!"

Lucy sighed and pushed back her hair. She asked calmly, "What would you like for me to do, Anti? I can't allow you fully into this world… It's not mine. I'm hopefully leaving sooner rather than later, so I can't just let you roam freely."

"Why not?" Anti asked heatedly. "It's not like I can't get into that world once you leave. What's so bad about me being there? You're afraid that I'll mess things up with Barry." Anti's eyes glowed black as he narrowed them at her with suspicion.

Lucy shrugged and looked away for a moment. As much as she didn't like him pointing it out, Anti was right. She'd been relying on him for months now. He'd never done anything to hurt her or derail her plans, but she still didn't want to give him the opportunity.

"Just let me inside the watch," Anti pleaded. "Then I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Why are you so keen on getting inside the watch?" Lucy asked, now suspicious. "I've let you in this world… at least inside the technology of this world. Can't you just get into it anyway?"

"I can't," Anti answered, glitching with anger. "It's not of this world… it's of your world. That creature that made it… he was from the same world as you. He created it. I can't use it without your permission."

"You didn't answer why being inside the watch is so preferable."

"Because… it's the only way I can follow you from this world to the next. Also… I don't trust that woman… she has dark power. The one behind the posting of the site. I need to be with you when you go to see her. She's not safe."

"So you did hide the site!" Lucy accused, but Anti raised his hands defensively and replied quickly, "That wasn't me?! I think she took it down. She's a seer of some kind. She seemed to know that I was watching her. She told me a place to meet her, but Lucy… she's dangerous. I could feel the dark energy pouring out of her… she may know how to use light magic, but that's not all she can do. I'll tell you everything, but you need to take me with you."

Lucy sat down and pulled D'Artagnan into her lap as she thought over her choices. If she let Anti in the watch, would she be able to get rid of him if he decided to stop playing nice? He had already decided to play detective without her and found the person who knew about 'the light of the soul.' And that woman. She could be dangerous… she might even be the person that Dark was talking to.

Lucy turned to Anti, whom was waiting patiently with a worried expression, and asked, "Could she be Dark's insider?"

Anti laughed and answered, "Definitely not. Immortals are harder to sway than normal humans. She's too powerful to let Dark manipulate her. I think that the only reason she even let me get away was so that I could lead you to her. That's why you need to be careful. We're stronger together. She wouldn't be able to attack both of us." D'Artagnan let out a growl, and Anti rolled his eyes and amended, "The three of us."

Lucy stroked D'Artagnan's head. He calmed down as Lucy decided what to do. The only way to find out about this power seemed to be to hear this woman out, and Lucy didn't want to go alone. Anti was right. The three of them would be better suited to handle this woman if she attacked them.

"Okay, you can stay in the watch, but behave yourself. I will find a way to destroy it if you cause me problems."

Anti gave her a smirk but said, "I know."

He glitched off the screen and disappeared before his voice came from her watch.

"Esrin Fortuna is the name she gave me. She said that she'll meet us at a casino in Hub City."

Lucy nodded and took off the watch.

"Hey! What the HELL are you doing?!" Anti shouted from the watch.

"Getting dressed in something more… fitting I guess," Lucy answered and grabbed her suit from the closet before walking into the bathroom to get changed. "I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb."

Lucy quickly brushed her hair before walking back out and putting the watch back on.

"No, now you'll just look like one of the waitstaff," Anti said irritably.

"Exactly. People don't usually take notice of the people that serve them. Missy could barely remember the names of the maids, much less knew what they were doing at any given point. As long as I keep a low profile, I'll be able to slide right under their radar," Lucy replied and put the watch on.

"Ah, so you're going for the servant disguise. Good, I guess. Better than nothing."

Lucy glared at the watch as D'Artagnan transformed into a tie. A knocking came from the doorway. Lucy hurriedly looped D'Artagnan around her neck as she bolted to the door. If it was Dark's puppet leaving another present, Lucy wanted to make sure that she caught the creeper. Lucy almost collided with Felicity in her rush but pulled herself back in time.

"In a hurry?" Oliver asked as Lucy noticed him waiting on the opposite wall.

"Uh, kind of. I was expecting something… someone else, so, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Oh," Felicity answered awkwardly. "Well, we, uh, thought that… we didn't exactly get off on the best of feet, so we thought that we could at least invite you out for dinner."

"Thank you, but I have plans. It's also not really a good idea for you to hang out around me."

"Because of whatever's after you?" Oliver asked although his tone implied that he'd already figured out the answer. "The demon and its lackey?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied and watched Felicity look more nervous.

"If there's anything I can do to help…" Felicity offered.

"There isn't. I'd have asked," Lucy said with a sad smile and a shrug. "I've got something, but… I'm not sure… there is actually something." Lucy looked around the hallway before gesturing for them to come inside.

Oliver walked in calmly while Felicity checked the hallways then nervously stepped inside. The door closed almost silently behind Felicity as she waited by it. Lucy walked to the laptop and turned it so that Felicity could see the surveillance cameras.

"I need to leave for a couple days, but I set up some cameras. I was wondering if you could watch them for me and tell me if someone comes by. There was someone leaving things at my doorway… I want to catch that person if I can."

"Oh, sure," Felicity replied and looked warily at the laptop. "As long as a certain someone plays nice."

Anti laughed from the watch causing both Felicity and Oliver to turn their attention to Lucy's watch.

"He's coming with me. I may need backup," Lucy explained, and Oliver's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure that you trust him?"

"Enough," Lucy answered, and Anti made a sound of frustration.

"I've never shot an arrow at you!" Anti said spitefully.

"Yeah, but you did want to slit my throat."

Anti groaned and asked, "Are you never going to let that go? I was just playing."

"I don't mind going with you," Oliver announced, cutting off Lucy's remark.

"Thanks, Oliver, but I'm good," Lucy said confidently. Somehow, she knew that she had everything she needed. She couldn't explain it. It was just a feeling but a strong one, as though her going to meet this woman was a certainty.

"If you say so," Oliver replied with a look at the watch. "You have my number if things don't go well."

"Yes, thank you."

Oliver looked around before looking back at Lucy in confusion. "Didn't you have a cat?"

D'Artagnan wiggled a bit, but thankfully Oliver didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I put him in a pet daycare thing for a couple days. He'll be fine."

Oliver nodded, but he didn't seem fully convinced with Lucy's plan as she ushered them out the door and gave Felicity the laptop.

"Just… be careful," Oliver said, and Lucy tilted her head with a smirk.

"When am I not?"

That earned Lucy a small chuckle from Felicity and a disapproving look from Oliver.

"I'll try," Lucy promised and waved to them as she caught a taxi and began her trek to Hub City.


	26. Luz del Alma

Lucy took a deep breath before she entered the casino. Even with Esrin's directions, it had been hard to find, but Lucy assumed that was the point. Walking through the doors, Lucy kept her head low and took a moment to look around. Men in nice suits and women in beautiful gowns bet with looks of excitement and anticipation. A dark headed woman stood by the bar, and her eyes found Lucy's. A small smile formed on her face as she turned and walked to a set of doors. The woman waited by the doors with an inviting look.

"That's her," Anti whispered, and Lucy jumped in surprise.

The woman raised her eyebrow at Lucy with amusement, and Lucy warily walked over to the doors. The woman opened one of the doors. Inside was completely different from the casino. The bright chandeliers of the casino contrasted with the room's dark and foreboding nature. As the door closed behind Lucy, she realized that this wasn't a room. It wasn't part of the casino at all.

"I apologize for the secrecy," the woman said with an accent that Lucy couldn't quite place. "I assumed that you would want to speak in private. There are prying eyes in the casino… and its mirrors."

"So you know about him?" Lucy asked and felt some unexplained relief. "Dark?"

"Yes, although I did not know his name. Not many creatures, even dark ones, will challenge me so openly. However… I can see why," Esrin said and walked around Lucy, observing Lucy with appraising eyes.

"Why would that be?" Lucy said and kept her eyes on Esrin as she circled the room.

"You are a strange one. The spirits have told me of your coming, but I did not expect… What have you come here for?"

"I came here to learn about the light of the soul," Lucy said without hesitation.

"Because you read about it on the internet? I have little use for modern technology, but I do know that not all information is true. Although we both know that is not what led you here."

Lucy glared at Esrin, who glanced at Lucy's watch, and replied evenly, "And I think that we both know that you set that up knowing I'd find it and find you."

"Yes, I suppose that would be correct," Esrin replied wearily. "Why do you want to learn about light magic? I can see inside of you, and I know… you are far more inclined to the darkness than the light. Light magic only works if you have more light, more hope, inside of you. Otherwise… your darkness will feed the darkness that you so fear."

"So… you're saying all of this was a waste of time?!" Lucy yelled, startling Esrin. "You lured me here… just to tell me how utterly hopeless I am?!"

"I called you here to answer your questions. You want a weapon that can defeat this Dark."

"No, I want to protect someone from him. I don't care what it costs. You can use this light magic, right?"

"Yes," Esrin said although her eyes looked doubtful. "Who is the one that you want to protect? And why?"

"What do you want to do it? I don't have much right now, but I can get some money."

"You need to tell me why," Esrin said sternly. "Why is one person so important? Why would this Dark want to hurt a human?"

"Why does he want me? Who knows? Who cares?"

"I can see why he desires you," Esrin said thoughtfully. "You do contain far more darkness than light inside of you… but there is, without a doubt, some light. You have a strong will. It is what released you from Time and gave you power in a world that is not your own."

"He wants me because… I'm stubborn?" Lucy asked impetuously.

Esrin laughed and replied, "That is a piece of it… despite your darkness, you strive to do the right thing. So why is saving one person the right thing? Or at least… why is it so important to you? That is the price that I am asking for… before I give you anything. Prove to me why I should."

"Because… he is important. And Dark… he knows how important Barry is to me. I had a family," Lucy explained as her voice began to break. She composed herself before she continued, "I had a mom and a dad and a little brother. I was normal… and happy. And then suddenly they were gone. I tried to forget them. That didn't work, so I planned to outwit an evil genius and get her to end my suffering… and that failed too. But in failing, I found strength. In her. When I first got to this world, my first thought was how to get back to her. Then I found him."

Lucy took a second to compose herself and continued, "He's so much like him… my little brother. They look the same, talk the same, hell, they're even in love with the same girl. And he's not my brother, and he'll never be. But he gave me something that I haven't had in a long time. Hope." Lucy looked to Esrin with teary, pleading eyes and went on, "I'm not hopeless. Not anymore. I'm no longer running from my past but now running towards what I can be because I saw what he can be. What he will be."

"And what will he be?"

"A hero," Lucy said with complete certainty. "I don't see everything. Just brief flashes of what will be, but it's enough. He doesn't just need to be saved. He deserves to be saved, not because he is like my brother but because he'll give everything he has to save others. If this light magic works on hope, then I can assure you… Barry is more than deserving of your good faith… he has all of mine."

A tear ran down Lucy's cheek, but she let it fall. Dropping to her knees, she lowered her head and pleaded, "Please, help him. I don't care about the price."

"You believe in this Barry to that extent?"

"Yes, I believe in Barry Allen," Lucy said and felt a soft hand on her cheek. Esrin looked at her with a small, sad smile.

"Please stand. I know of a spell that will protect your Barry Allen, although there is a price and a challenge."

Lucy quickly wiped her face and looked to Esrin with hope. She asked, "A price and a challenge?"

"Yes, to successfully use this spell you must fight this Dark, face to face. If your belief in this boy is as unshakable as you have led me to believe, then you will succeed… if not, the darkness will overwhelm you, and Dark will be able to take you into his world."

"So that's the challenge? What's your price?"

"Not my price. The spell's price. If you are successful and this boy is everything you believe he is, then this world will owe you. I cannot use this protection. Not only do I not interfere in the affairs of mortal, but I lack what will make this magic truly strong. Magic is much more than incantations. It is hope, intent, strength of will, and sacrifice. After you use this spell, you cannot come back to this world after you leave it. That is the price."

Lucy clenched her fist but nodded. She would be going back to trying to find her way back home after all, but her heart still hurt.

"Good, but I do wonder about that abomination that you are keeping with you," Esrin said, nonchalantly looking at the watch. "He may end up being your next foe."

"Then I'll deal with him when the time comes," Lucy said resolutely. "But… I don't believe that he will. And his name is Anti."

Esrin gave Lucy another judging look before she pulled out a talisman on a golden chain and said, "Place the talisman on the boy's chest above his heart. There are no words to repeat, just place you hand on the talisman and think of your intent. Dark will likely sense this and confront you. Maybe even take you to a different world, but the talisman will not vanish. Keep your focus on that. Do not let him persuade you to take your hand away. Your friends will not be able to help you in this. This is your fight alone."

Esrin gave a meaningful look to Lucy's 'tie,' and D'Artagnan made a worried sound.

"I can do this," Lucy said and took the talisman. "Thank you. How will I know when it's… done?"

"You will feel it."

"Well, that's helpful," Anti muttered.

Esrin gave the watch a reproachful look and explained, "I am not trying to be vague to discourage or confuse you. That's simply how magic works. You will feel the surge then the ebb of the magic, and you will know that it's done. And Dark will be unable to hold you in his world if you do this correctly. Just keep focused on Barry. Do not let your hope in him waver."

"It won't," Lucy stated with confidence.

Lucy gave Esrin a small bow before she went back inside the casino. She left the casino with her head held high. A smile danced on her lips, and the talisman glowed with warmth inside Lucy's hand.


	27. Light Vs Dark

The train back to Central City could have been a pleasant ride, but nervousness made it hard for Lucy to enjoy the scenery. The talisman still radiated warmth in Lucy's trembling hand. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You sure about this?" Anti asked.

Lucy nodded and glanced her watch. Anti seemed to be just as nervous as Lucy was.

"You know it's dangerous, right?!" Anti hissed in anger. "I can't help you if the shaman's spell fails. Once he gets you, it's over."

"I know," Lucy whispered as Central City peeked above the horizon. "I won't fail."

Anti made an annoyed sound but went silent as the train approached the station. Lucy quickly gathered the few items that she had brought with her. A cab waited for Lucy in the distance. She ran to it and told the driver the address of STAR Labs again, making sure that it was the one she had called.

As the cab pulled out of the lot, Lucy patted D'Artagnan reassuringly. She was undeniably nervous. Positively terrified. But she could feel something that she hadn't before. A sense of purpose. Confidence. She knew that whatever the conclusion that this was the right thing for her to do.

Lucy thanked the driver, gave him his money, and got out of the cab with a spring in her step. It was later in the evening, so it was likely that Dr. Snow and Cisco at least would be going home for the night. She had texted Iris. Joe would be at work, and Iris had some school work to finish and wouldn't be able to visit Barry for a while tonight. Dr. Wells would likely still be there, but Lucy could take of him. Worst case scenario: she'd beat the hell out of him with his wheelchair. It wasn't like he needed it. And a promise is a promise.

Lucy hurried into the building and took note of Anti's quiet. Was it because he had given up on discouraging her to go through with this plan, or was he working on a plan of his own? Lucy soon found the room where they were keeping Barry to see Dr. Wells sitting nearby. He looked up with curiosity and raised an eyebrow at Lucy's breathing.

She caught her breath and managed to stammer out, "Uh, Dr. Wells… good to see you."

"And you. Are you in a hurry?" he asked her with a tilt of his head.

"No. Yes. Actually… I kind of plan on leaving tonight. I was wondering if you'd give me a little alone time… I have something to say. I know that he can't hear me or won't remember, but… it'd make me feel a little better about leaving before he gets better."

"I suppose," Dr. Wells replied hesitantly before an alarm went off, and he turned his attention back to one of the screens. "It would seem that I don't really have a choice anyway. Something in the chamber seems to be malfunctioning. Be right back."

Dr. Wells rolled out of the room, and Lucy wasted no time and placed the amulet above Barry's heart. Closing her eyes, she whispered a thanks to Anti and concentrated on the protection. The spell was activated by intent, so she thought about Barry being safe from the shadows. Hope filled her as she thought of the Barry she had seen in dreams. She wasn't sure if they were truly dreams or visions, but she thought of the person Barry was and the hero he could become.

The amulet burned hot underneath her hand, and suddenly it was almost as though it had disappeared. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Chills went up her spine as she struggled to keep her hand in place. A familiar voice echoed from the darkness.

"Lucy, so good of you to join me," Dark said as his eyes peered into Lucy's with a triumphant gleam. "You've already let the darkness inside of you win. You know that there was never any way for you to win against me. Give me your hand."

He held out his hand toward Lucy, but she ignored it. This had to be a trick of his. She couldn't feel the talisman, but she could feel the pressure of it on Barry's chest. She focused on her hope for Barry and tried to block out Dark as white noise echoed through her head.

"YOU HAVE LOST!" Dark yelled in fury before his voice changed back to a more melodious tone. "Lucy, we don't need to fight anymore. All you need to do is give me your hand. You can stay with me. Where you belong. I understand you, and you can learn to understand me. Please, Lucy. LET ME IN."

Lucy kept herself focused on the talisman, but nothing changed. She refused to let herself fall into despair. She could do this.

"You're far more like me than him, you know. Your anger… your heartbreak. They are keeping you tethered to that boy. Trapping you. All you need to do to free yourself is take my hand. Then this world will no longer be your prison but your palace."

Lucy laughed at that then chastised herself quietly in her head. Right now keeping this psycho away from Barry was more important.

"Lucy," Dark whispered in voice that was more of a growl. "STOP! Please… I can give you anything. If you stop, I won't need him. He's not even your brother. Just a shadow of the person he could have been."

"Aren't you the shadow?" Lucy asked and kept her hand in place even though it was shaking. "I know he's not my brother. Similar but not the same. And that kills me, but I've seen what he can be. What he will be. A hero. A beacon of hope. And that's worth protecting. You won't hurt him because I WON'T LET YOU!"

The talisman seemed to reappear in Lucy's hand, and Lucy could feel the warmth as it began to glow.

Dark seemed to change tactics and pleaded, "He'll be fine without you. He doesn't need you. Why are doing this for him?"

"Because I believe in Barry Allen," Lucy responded and once again closed her eyes. "If he can be a hero… then so can I."

Dark let out a scream of frustration, and Lucy opened her eyes to see dark tendrils being repelled by the light of the spell. The world swirled around her but soon brightened, and Barry laid on the bed in front of her. The talisman cracked as light swirled from it and into Barry's chest. Light danced on the surface of Barry's skin before fading, and Lucy picked up the broken talisman. It was over. Barry was safe. A jubilant smile spread on her face as she held the broken pieces close. A sound made her quickly hide them in her backpack as Dr. Wells came back into the room.

"Everything okay?" Lucy asked, taking note of an irritated look on his face.

"Yes, it would seem that something's wrong with our system," Dr. Wells murmured. "It showed one of our machines being active. It was not, but at least I got some exercise." He gave Lucy a meaningful look and asked, "Is everything okay with you? You seem pale."

"Are you trying to say that I should get a tan?"

"No, you just… look like you could use some rest."

"I'll be fine. Thank you, Dr. Wells. For your concern," Lucy said evenly and tried to keep the skepticism out of her tone. She highly doubted whether Dr. Wells cared about her wellbeing.

"Okay then," Dr. Wells said but gave her an unsure look. "By the way… did you ever get in touch with Dr. McGee? She sounded worried."

Lucy's eyes widened as she realized that she'd never gotten back to Dr. McGee. She'd gotten too busy trying to find out what Anti was hiding from her and hadn't called Dr. McGee back.

"So that would be a 'no'?" Dr. Wells asked with a bemused smile.

"Yeah… that's a no. It doesn't matter much anyway. I just came by to say goodbye to Barry. I won't be back," Lucy said as she felt a lump in her throat. She cleared her throat before continuing, "Thank you. I should at least tell her that I'm leaving."

Dr. Wells gave her a strange look and asked, "Leaving? You make it sound like you won't ever be back."

Lucy smiled at Barry one last time and replied, "I won't. At least not as long as everything goes to plan. It was… interesting. Meeting you, Dr. Wells."

"And you," Dr. Wells replied, looking more confused than ever. "It just… you were so insistent on protecting him. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Lucy sighed and debated what she should tell him. A 'none of your business' response would be satisfying, but she didn't want to give him a reason to interfere with any of her plans.

"I… I just miss home. I don't belong here. There are people waiting for me. People that I've kept waiting for far too long and they deserve more. They deserve better," Lucy explained and was surprised by the ease of her confession. While it certainly wasn't a lie, it also hid her true motives.

Dr. Wells glanced down, and for a second Lucy thought that she saw understanding flash in his eyes. Finally, he gave her a small smile and said, "Well, good luck."

"Thanks," Lucy responded when her phone started ringing. She fumbled with it for a second before answering, "Yes?"

Felicity answered with hesitation, "Okay. So… remember how you asked me to keep an eye on your cameras?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied and mouthed a 'sorry' to Dr. Wells, whom replied with a shrug.

"There was… I just need for you to see this. You need to come back to Starling. Pronto."


	28. Back to Starling

The train ride back to Starling City was far less exciting this time. Lucy had a hard time not dozing off into slumber as the train pulled into the station, but she fought the impulse and stretched. Gathering her things, she noticed Felicity pacing outside on the platform. Felicity nearly slipped on the pavement. Lucy raised an eyebrow in response but knew that Felicity was likely still upset by whatever she had seen on the tape.

Felicity collected herself and waited for Lucy to exit the train before she whispered, "Okay… so I know I was a bit… unhelpful…"

"Not really. You did exactly as I asked," Lucy responded quickly and followed Felicity to her car. "I'm just happy that you found something… anything, really."

Felicity stopped and fumbled with her keys for a few seconds before unlocking the car. Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion. There was clearly something that Felicity was keeping secret, and it seemed to be more than whatever Felicity had seen on the camera. Lucy opened the car door but waited outside.

Felicity looked at Lucy nervously and stammered, "Uh, yeah?"

"Oliver's up to something, isn't he?"

"Uh, no! No. What? No," Felicity responded unconvincingly before sighing and changing her tone. "Okay, yeah. But we just have some questions. That's all."

"So why did Oliver send you? Was he too angry? Was the plan to surprise me with 'just questions?'"

"Well… Oliver had some business to attend to," Felicity replied with a meaningful look at Lucy. "And we were going to have Dig pick you up, but… we assumed that you wouldn't go with someone that you've never met."

Lucy nodded and got inside the car. Felicity didn't seem as nervous now that their plan was out in the open. She wondered at what questions they'd ask. While Lucy was aware that she had told them as little as possible, she had at least told Oliver quite a bit more than she'd ever planned to. He knew that she wasn't from this world, that she's running from a demonic entity, and that Barry is this world's version of her brother. What more did he want to know? Just what had Felicity seen on the tape?

Lucy watched the people on the street and tried to imagine what could possibly be on the video. Maybe they had seen Dr. Wells, but that didn't seem like something that they'd want to ask her about. With a small sigh Lucy waited for Felicity park the car.

The sun had already started to set over the horizon, giving the building an odd glow. Felicity gestured for Lucy to follow her inside. After taking in a deep breath, Lucy followed her inside and down the stairs. Oliver stood by the computers with his arms crossed in front of him. A man that Lucy hadn't seen before noticed Lucy and Felicity walking in and nudged Oliver.

"Uh, hey," Lucy said, and the man gave her a little wave. "I'm Lucy."

"You can call me 'Dig,'" the man replied. "So I hear you run with some dangerous people?"

"I could say the same about you," Lucy replied, and Dig laughed and shrugged.

Oliver frowned and said, "So before I show you what Felicity found…"

"You want to ask me some questions. Okay. Shoot. Not literally," Lucy said quickly, and Dig hid a small smile.

"Okay then… I have a few concerns about the company you keep," Oliver said with a look to Lucy's watch, which had glitched for a second.

"I don't think he likes me," Anti said with fake sadness. "Oh, no. What am I to do?"

Dig looked to the watch with shock, and Lucy sighed as Oliver glared at it.

"I need him. He helps me defend myself from the other one," Lucy defended Anti irritably.

"But why though? And how long will that last? You don't think that he'll eventually turn against you."

"I trust him. For now. Trust but verify," Lucy admitted, noticing that Anti had gone silent. "He's been the only one that I haven't had to explain myself to here… or anywhere… at least, the only one besides Barry. He may only be helping me out of amusement. But that's okay. I'm not asking for his unwavering loyalty. Just his help."

"We're just concerned about you," Felicity said with pleading eyes. "I don't want to judge, but… you're taking big risks… and you don't seem to care about the consequences."

"I'm fine," Lucy snapped at Felicity then took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'll be okay. I'm not that easy to hurt. And I recover pretty quickly. You think that I'm being overconfident… or even arrogant, and maybe I am. But that's something that I'll handle on my own. My flaws, my consequences. After you show me what you've found, I plan on leaving. You won't see me again, hear from me again… I'll be gone and, hopefully, on my way home."

Oliver looked like he had more to say but gestured for Felicity to show Lucy the laptop. Felicity grabbed the laptop and clicked a few icons before giving it to Lucy. It was the feed outside of Lucy's old room in Starling, and a woman appeared in front of the door, carrying roses. Lucy felt a weird prickling sensation travel up her arms. The woman seemed to be glitching on the camera feed as though the image of a man was being superimposed over her. With a sudden movement she looked up to the camera. Lucy flinched as Dark's eyes looked into hers, and the camera lens cracked and went black. Before the feed cut off, a scream echoed through the hallway.

"That's… that's not good," Lucy said lamely and noticed that she had unconsciously grabbed the broken talisman in fear.

"Nope," Anti answered nonchalantly, and by the expression on Oliver's face, Anti was only talking to her. "But I don't feel his presence in this world anymore. Whatever the witch gave you seems to have weakened him significantly."

"I did something," Lucy admitted. "To protect Barry. It seems to have at least weakened him. I doubt that he'll be able to cause too much trouble."

"What did you do?"

"A shaman gave me a talisman. One of the requirements she gave me for meeting her was that I wouldn't reveal her, or her… magic, to anyone else," Lucy replied to Oliver's irritated glance.

"So that's where you ran off to," Oliver replied evenly.

"Yes, it worked out, didn't it? Barry's safe. My enemy is weakened. Now we just need to find out the identity of the woman. See if she's alright. I doubt it. Dark has an 'effect' on people."

"An 'effect'?"

"Yeah, he seems to… uh, heighten and feed off of emotions. Particularly negative ones."

Oliver nodded, and Dig and Felicity gave each other a worried look. Lucy fidgeted before replaying the tape.

"She looks… familiar?" Lucy muttered mostly to herself. "I can't place where though."

"That Barry Allen tunnel vision?" Oliver asked with a slight smile. "She works for Mercury Labs. One of the scientists. She's not so fond of you… apparently."

"She's not the first… and won't be the last," Lucy replied with a sigh. "She probably thinks that I have it easy or that I don't care enough about the work to receive the benefits that I do."

"Is she right?" Dig asked.

Lucy shrugged and replied, "I guess. My work more than merits the amount that I was paid, but… no, I don't care about the benefits of what I created. It was all for money. But in my defense, it's not like I have that many options to make money here. I don't even have a valid social security number."

Dig nodded and said, "I'd like to help, but… fighting demons is a bit above what I can deliver."

"No worries," Lucy said and put the laptop down. "This is something that I started. I need to finish it. You guys have done more than enough. Thank you."

"So what are you planning to do?" Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I… I guess try to talk to her. Maybe her hearing me apologize will snap her out of whatever Dark did to her."

"Or maybe she's already beyond helping. What will you do then?"

"I… don't know. Maybe killing me will give her the release she needs," Lucy joked. "I do hope it won't come to that."

"Okay, now I'm really worried," Felicity muttered and gave Oliver a look.

"As I said… I'm not really worried. I'll be fine."

"What if I just stay nearby as backup?" Oliver asked. "I'll make sure to keep you in view and step in if it gets too…"

"Bloody?" Lucy asked, and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Heated," Oliver finished his sentence irritably. "It's better than going alone."

"For once I agree with the idiot," Anti spoke up with begrudging agreement. "I don't trust that girl. She's not going to listen to reason. Dark had far too much influence over her for this to end peacefully. Whatever good she once had… it's probably gone now. We're better off just cutting our losses."

"But I at least need to try to reason with her," Lucy replied angrily. "I'll wear an earpiece if that'll make you feel better, but I won't leave before I speak with her."

Anti sighed, but Felicity looked a little more at ease. Oliver said something to Dig before he walked back over to Lucy.

"Ready if you are," Oliver said before grabbing his bow.

Lucy reluctantly nodded as Felicity handed her an earpiece. She was as ready as she'd ever be.


	29. Shots Fired

The sun began to set over the buildings in the distance as Lucy waited for Anne to show. She stifled a yawn and waited patiently. Anne had agreed to meet her in a more isolated part of town, and Lucy had more than happy to accept her terms. Oliver was waiting in one of the abandoned buildings with a clear sight of Lucy.

A small sound alerted Lucy to an approaching shadow. A woman with dark circles around her eyes stepped out of the darkness and held out a gun. Lucy put her hands up calmly.

"Anne?"

"What do you want? You… did something to him. The mirrors… I can't see him anymore. What did you do?!" Anne asked as her hands trembled on the gun.

"I just sent him away," Lucy explained calmly. "He promised you something, didn't he? What was it?"

Anne looked away in anger before she answered, "He would make you disappear. And then I could finally get the recognition that I deserve… All of your work… how'd you do it? I was so close to completing something, and then you'd come in and steal the glory! Were you looking at my notes?"

"No," Lucy said but felt that too familiar twinge of guilt. Clearly she had an unfair advantage against the people of this world. By making quick cash off of inventions that were now trivial to her, she had taken something away from the people working hard on their own research. "I'm sorry if you felt that way, but it was all my work. Please, you need help. When was the last time you slept?"

"I… I don't remember. And quit that! You don't care! You just want me out of the way. I know your secret. He told me that you weren't really from this world. Is that how you got your work? Stole it from somewhere else?"

"No. Everything I create is of my own design," Lucy said sternly. "I'm sorry if… I took an opportunity away from you. I truly am. But… can't you still create something new from your work? If you truly put all of your best effort into your research, then it certainly wasn't pointless. I'm leaving. For good. All I'm trying to do right now is get you help."

Lucy could hear Felicity and Oliver arguing back and forth from the earpiece but didn't acknowledge them. Anne was starting to pay attention to Lucy's words. A glimmer of relief was in Anne's eyes.

"But… what did you do to Dark?" Anne asked; her eyes now angry. "You took him away from me."

"I wanted to protect someone I care about. You know that he was just using you. That's what he does. Uses people and then throws them away."

"So why did he want you then?" Anne snapped at Lucy angrily. "He didn't seem too keen on throwing you away."

"I escaped from him. You can too now. Just… get some rest. Maybe check yourself in somewhere; that's all I'm asking."

Anne started laughing madly before asking, "You think I'm crazy too? You want to lock me up somewhere?"

"No, I want to get you help. He has a way of getting inside people's heads. Changing them. You really don't feel any different since you started dealing with him?"

"I feel stronger. Better even! No more doubts clouding my head. I feel… free," Anne replied with a sense of wonder. "All of the things I've told myself… for years! Now they just seem so clear. Bring him back. Now."

Anne got closer, and her hands grew steadier. There was a need in her eyes now. Intense yet strangely unfocused, her stare made Lucy feel incredibly uncomfortable.

"Don't shoot," Lucy said, but it was more to Oliver than Anne. "Anne, you don't need him. And even if I could… I wouldn't. He's dangerous. What did you think he was going to do after he got his hands on me? Did you think that he was going to stay here?"

Anne glared at Lucy and fired a shot. Lucy didn't flinch as the bullet grazed her arm and continued staring at Anne. An arrow flew through the night air and landed in the ground by Anne's feet, causing her to look around herself in a panic.

"I said that we'd meet alone!" Anne demanded furiously.

"And I said no weapons. If you had followed my rules, then you never would have known that anyone else was here," Lucy replied with a strange calmness.

"But… but that… What's going to keep me from shooting you? A bullet is faster than an arrow."

"I'd die first, but you wouldn't be that far behind me," Lucy bluffed. She doubted that Oliver would kill the woman, but it might be good for Anne to think he would. Anne's hand holding the gun fell a little, and she started to shake a little.

"I'm sorry… I just… I don't know what's gotten into me. All I wanted… was a little recognition, but Dr. McGee was always talking about what an asset you were. I just… I don't know anymore."

Tears fell down Anne's face, and she dropped the gun. Lucy walked closer to her hesitantly. As soon as she got closer to Anne a shot rang out, and Lucy felt a fiery heat in her chest as blood stained her shirt. She fell to the ground and noticed Anne fall too. Blood stained the front of her dress. The bullet that had pierced Lucy had hit her as well, but Anne didn't look surprised. A wide smile spread across her face.

"I hired some help too," Anne whispered before she closed her eyes.

Lucy's vision went dark, and she felt herself being pulled back into the Void. With steely determination she ripped herself back into her body as Oliver shouted her name. She looked up as Oliver looked down at her with fear and wonder.

"Are you… are you okay?" Oliver asked as though out of breath.

"I was just shot, Ollie," Lucy whispered back. "I find your bedside manner disturbing."

Lucy looked down. The gunshot wound was now healed as her clothes had already began to repair themselves, and the bloodstain in her shirt disappeared. Luckily her suit had some repair abilities as well. Oliver looked too scared to be irritated by her jokes or curious about her abilities just yet.

"Was I out long? Did the shooter get away?" Lucy asked.

"No… the 'shooter' was attacked by your tie… which transformed into some kind of tentacled abomination… and he fell about twenty stories."

Lucy looked to where D'Artagnan was peeking out of the shadows. She held out her hand. D'Artagnan transformed into a mouse and ran to her with a chirp.

"I'm sorry, D'Artagnan," Lucy said quietly.

"I told you that she was too far gone," Anti said, and Lucy glared at the watch. "What? It's true… but I suppose it was the 'right' thing for you to do. Try… which you did."

Oliver was still staring at D'Artagnan with trepidation and asked, "So… that is… was that cat. Your 'cat.'"

"Technically it wasn't a lie," Lucy defended herself. "He was a cat at the time… And it was easier than explaining."

"So you were just being lazy?"

"Pretty much," Lucy said and got up off the ground. She took out the earpiece and handed it to Oliver. "Thanks… for everything."

"You're welcome," Oliver responded in a worried tone.

Lucy sighed and said hesitantly, "I thought about what you guys were saying earlier… That I'm rushing into things… I want to ask you for one more thing."

"What?"

"Could you train me how to fight? Nothing fancy. I just… I'm done running away from things."

Oliver nodded and smiled before walking back to bring the car a little closer for Lucy.

"Hey, Lucy, the witch is here. Over in that building," Anti said irritably. "We should probably see what she wants."

Lucy stood up with a small grunt before making her way over to the abandoned building. Esrin stood there with a finger over her lips and a smile.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think that you would try to save the girl as well," Esrin said with an odd serenity.

"Yeah, well, don't be. I didn't really help anyone."

"No, but you tried. If she hadn't been so drawn to the darkness, perhaps you could have saved her, but… que sera sera. I have something for you. It will help keep your demon on a leash," Esrin replied and held out a necklace with a small charm.

"What's special about it?" Lucy asked and examined the necklace.

"Nothing right now. There seems to be some unease between you two. Neither can fully trust the other. The pact you will seal on this charm will put an end to that. Neither will harm the other. That doesn't seem too bad, does it?"

"No," Anti and Lucy said at once.

Esrin directed them, and at the end the necklace seemed to faintly glow with dark and light energies. Esrin gave it an appreciating glance before she handed it to Lucy. With a wave Esrin disappeared into the shadows as Lucy heard Oliver shouting for her outside. She stumbled back out into the open. Oliver gave her an odd look as she put on the necklace, but he kept silent as she followed him back to the car.


	30. The Master's Companion

Lucy hit the ground with an unforgiving thud as Anti cackled. This world didn't look particularly inviting. Discarded items laid strewn about everywhere, and dirt was more prevalent than grass. She checked to make sure that no one around before she started talking to Anti.

"Would it kill you to be a little less of a jerk?" Lucy whispered angrily as she got up off the ground.

"It might," Anti answered cheekily. "Besides I thought that all of that training with Oliver would have helped you learn how to fall."

"It's a lot harder to prepare for something at the other end of a portal… that I can't even see through," Lucy snapped back and took in her surroundings.

There didn't seem to be any people. Mice crawled through some of the broken equipment, but there were no other sounds. That sent a chill up Lucy's spine as she quietly looked for a place to settle for a little while. There was a building in the distance. It was either in the middle of being built or had broken apart. Lucy hoped that it was the former but knew that it was most likely the latter.

Lucy held her backpack closer to her and began the walk to the building. Anti and Lucy knew the drill by now. Finding the breaches in between worlds had started to become easier for the both of them, but it was finding shelter in those new worlds that was often tricky. An old arrow stuck out of the ground. Someone had been doing some target practice recently. That would have made her nervous, but after training with Oliver for a couple months, arrows didn't frighten her as much. After all, she had nearly gotten shot with one every other day. Now dodging them came to her naturally.

"Are you keeping it? It seems a bit rusted," Anti said, bringing Lucy out of her thoughts.

"No… just hoping that someone doesn't have more than arrows."

Anti laughed, and Lucy started jogging for the building. The sun had begun to set. Having a little protection would be useful as Lucy had no idea what horrors could await her here. The inside of the building didn't look much better than the outside with broken walls, but it would give her some cover. Lucy sat down in a corner that shielded her from view.

The sound of a footstep made her pause. She wasn't alone. Someone else, or something else, had found this building as well. The footsteps stopped, and she heard a small thud. Peeking around the corner, she saw a man holding his head in his arms, muttering to himself.

"Be careful, dammit," Anti said irritably as Lucy slowly crept out from her position. "You can already tell he's crazy."

Lucy paid him no mind and got closer to the man, whom abruptly looked up in fear and anger as Lucy approached.

"Who are you?!" he asked angrily before cackling. "Doesn't matter. I need something. I'm so hungry."

"Master?" Lucy asked calmly with a tilt of her head.

The Master's eyes went wide as he looked at Lucy with curiosity and fear. He asked, "Who are you? Did The Doctor send you? He always has to mess with me! What does he want? No matter… I bet losing one of his companions will get his attention."

The Master got up and walked toward Lucy menacingly. Little bolts of lightning seemed to slide between his fingers as he got closer.

"Now would be the time to RUN, Lucy!" Anti yelled.

"I'm not The Doctor's companion, Koschei," Lucy said sternly, keeping her ground.

The Master looked at her with unbelieving eyes and took a step back before shouting, "WHO ARE YOU?!" His voice sounded angry, but Lucy could see the fear in his eyes.

"You know the answer… I'm your companion," Lucy said gently and gave him a small smile.

The Master sat back down, and Lucy walked toward him. She knelt in front of him and reached her gloved hand to touch his face. He flinched and looked at Lucy with a look that was almost feral.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you," Lucy said and reached out again. She gently touched his face and wiped his forehead. "It seems that we met in reverse order. This your first time meeting me, and I won't meet you for a while from now."

"Who are you?" The Master asked with a much more subdued voice.

Lucy smiled and gently raised her face to his before gently kissing his lips. The Master stiffened in surprise before relaxing. Lucy pulled away to see his demeanor completely change. The feral ferocity was now replaced by a pleading look, and he grabbed her hand in one of his.

"I'm Lucy. The Master's one and only true companion," she said and felt her voice shake.

The watch's alarm went off as a portal's location appeared on the screen. Whatever force that had led her this far clearly wasn't done with her just yet. Lucy debated turning off the alarm but knew that things wouldn't end well for her if she stayed. Besides, The Master hadn't become The Mistress yet. Messing with time never ended well for anyone.

"What's that? Why's it beeping?" The Master asked warily and let go of her hand.

"There's something that I need to do, but I promise… I'll come back. I'll find you," Lucy promised before kissing his forehead.

She bolted in the direction of the portal, knowing that The Master would soon follow. Footsteps behind her told her that she was right. A slight shimmer in the distance caught her attention, and she ran for it.

"Lucy!" The Master yelled. "Please! Don't go!"

Lucy turned back and smiled at him with tears threatening to fall.

"Goodbye. It seems that I still have some growing to do… I'll find you," Lucy said as the tears fell.

The Master's pleading, heartbroken eyes stayed with her long after she had jumped into the portal. She would find him. In a different form but still the same. As she landed in a new world, her heart swelled with the promise of adventure.


End file.
